Richard O'Donoghue demands accountability over Kappa and Temple Street
Richard O'Donoghue addressed failures at Kappa Hospital and Temple Street Hospital, calling for accountability and investigation into unnecessary operations. He pressed the minister and hospital management to answer for what happened to children and parents and urged authorities to follow the money trail to assess motives.
Immediate demands
He called for accountability "at the very start," saying there must be no more hiding and that current resignations among management are insufficient. He described the situation at Kappa Hospital and Temple Street Hospital as unforgivable and insisted the minister and managers must provide answers.
Management changes at UHL
He noted that management at UHL has changed since his first Dáil speech and said this has improved lines of communication. He said he now has people — including the minister and hospital management — who will take his calls and listen to problems reported within the hospital system.
Concerns about consultants and the money trail
He urged an investigation into whether some operations were unnecessary and carried out for financial reward, calling such activity potentially criminal. He recommended following the money trail and reviewing consultants' records to determine whether procedures were in patients' best interests or motivated by payment.
Impact on children and parents
He emphasised the human cost, insisting accountability must address what happened to the children and to their parents and hold those responsible to account. The speech frames the issue as both a management failure and a matter of possible criminality that requires a thorough inquiry.
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Accountability is at the very start. Minister, you are now in your role and you have hit the ground running and I appreciate that. But what is happening in Kappa Hospital and Temple Street Hospital is unforgivable. Accountability has to happen. We can look at it and nod our heads all day long, but at least now we are going the right direction. No more hiding. No more hiding for anyone. We saw in UHL my first speech here in the Dáil was about management in UHL and it has finally changed. They have a big task ahead of them, but it has changed. I now have somebody that will answer a phone to me. I have a minister that will answer a phone to me. I have management that will answer a phone to me. And they will listen to what is happening within the hospital system. There are some fantastic consultants out there that have some fantastic people across all the networks of hospitals. And then you get a minority that take advantage. But that goes back to management. It has to go back and there has to be accountability. Now, management, some of them have resigned at the moment. It is not enough. We need to make sure there is accountability for what has happened to those children and also what has happened to the parents. But one thing we should also look into, Minister, is to me it is criminal activity if operations were carried out for reward of money and they did not need to be carried out. If this was imbezzlement from any other companies, people would be looking at the money trail of this. Why don't we look at the money trail of this and go back to those consultants that took out those operations that didn't need to be happening? Did they do it for a financial reward or did they do it for the best practice of a child? And this report will actually show that. Thank you, Minister.
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