A garda assessment of allegations of fraud at a Dublin children’s hospital identified no offences and no further action will be taken, a spokesman has confirmed.
Earlier this year, a confidential report relating to work culture and the use of funding to cut public waiting lists at a hospital run by Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) was leaked widely in the media.
It highlighted concerns about a “toxic” work culture in parts of a CHI hospital, where there were complaints of bullying, victimisation of trainees and where one consultant reportedly had taken defamation proceedings against another.
The report found CHI had a “broken culture” created by dysfunctional relationships and challenging behaviour.
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One of the biggest concerns highlighted in the review was about the potential misuse of funding from the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF), which is State funding used to purchase care in public or private hospitals for patients waiting longest for treatment – through what is known as outsourcing or insourcing.
The 2022 internal report highlighted how one CHI consultant was allegedly referring patients to public weekend clinics at the hospital that were funded by the NTPF in an attempt to tackle waiting lists.
This consultant was seeing twice the number of patients in the weekend clinic than during his regular weekday equivalent, the review said. He received €35,800 for the weekend work, it added.
The NTPF temporarily suspended funding to CHI in light of the allegations, but this has since resumed.
[ Report reveals ‘toxic culture’ among consultants at CHI hospitalOpens in new window ]
CHI said it could not publish the report for legal reasons, and that it did not refer the matter to gardaí as it did not believe it met the threshold for criminality.
The HSE referred the report to gardaí in June after it became aware of it through the media.
In a statement on Friday night, a Garda spokesman said the force had been investigating allegations of fraud. However, the assessment process by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) was now complete and “no offences have been disclosed”.
“Therefore no action will be undertaken by An Garda Síochána,” he added.
The HSE said it has been informed by the GNECB that “following a review of the matter that is deemed not suitable for investigation”.
CHI, which will operate the new National Children’s Hospital when it opens, has faced a number of controversies in recent months, particularly in relation to the provision of paediatric orthopaedic care.
In May, the HSE published an audit on developmental dysplasia of the hip surgeries, which found almost 70 per cent of these procedures carried out in two hospitals – Temple Street and the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Cappagh – over a three-year period were not necessary.
Earlier in the year, the Health Information and Quality Authority published a report on the implantation of unlicensed springs into three children with scoliosis, which described the situation as “wrong”.
Another report, by UK expert Selvadurai Nayagam, is also being conducted into orthopaedic surgery at Temple Street following reports of poor outcomes.
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill appointed a number of HSE board members to the board of CHI in an effort to improve governance and oversight in the hospital group.
Lucy Nugent, chief executive of CHI, has apologised to the children and families affected by the recent revelations. The hospital group said it has accepted and is implementing recommendations on foot of the recent reviews.
