Tallaght to undergo major reform
Dublin's Tallaght Hospital is to make major changes to its governance structure, which are likely to include a further reduction in the size of its board and changes in the charter which governs the operation of the hospital.
The planned changes are to be considered by the hospital at a meeting today.
RTE News reported that the changes are to be made at the behest of Health Minister James Reilly. Tallaght is also to implement a plan to deal with its deficit for this year of over €11 million.
It is understood that the Minister had made clear to the hospital that it would have to make changes in its governance arrangements, and that the hospital's budgetary strategy and the planned governance changes are linked.
Tallaght ,however, had already made changes recently to its governing board, by reducing it from 23 to 14 members. The new board appointed during the summer included seven members of the old board.
In the wake of the unreported x-ray scandal early last year, Tallaght had originally promised to reduce its board membership to 10. The hospital has also yet to fill two new senior management posts recommended following the scandal.
Currently, Tallaght is subject to probes into the safety of its emergency department service and into a major data protection issue surrounding the sending of patient reports abroad for transcription.
The hospital, which has appointed a new CEO, recently took action to reduce the number of patients waiting for admission on trolleys.
The hospital says the new governance changes were being considered by the three constituent foundations of the hospital - the Adelaide, Meath and National Children's Hospitals. It said a fundamental change to the hospital's governance structure was being considered.
This include replacing its charter by a new framework to ensure 'contemporary governance' while retaining the hospital's voluntary status.
