Patient transfers from MUH to other hospitals raised at meeting
The decision to transfer patients from Mayo University Hospital (MUH) to another hospital for more treatment is generally made by the clinician and the relevant care team involved.
The information was provided to Cllr Michael Kilcoyne who queried the process at last week’s meeting of HSE Health Forum West when he stated that in some cases the family involved is looking for the patient to be transferred to a specialist hospital in Galway or Dublin but that does not always happen.
“Who makes the final decision and are the views of the family taken into account?” he asked the HSE management.
Integrated Health Area Manager for Galway/Roscommon, Ann Cosgrove, told Cllr Kilcoyne that the clinician and team looking after the patient would make the decision, adding: “Sometimes the specialist is only available at a particular location, for example a head injury would be transferred to Beaumont Hospital [in Dublin] or Cork University Hospital. So it depends where the specialist service is provided. If it is a case of elective or non-urgent surgery, they may decide the patient can go to a hospital of choosing for the family perhaps.”
Cllr Kilcoyne suggested there could also be cases where MUH might say there is a local specialist “and we can handle that here but the family is saying we want to go to a specialist place”.
Ms Cosgrove replied: “If I am in the service of MUH and need a plastic surgeon, there is no plastic surgeon in MUH so a referral would come to Galway where there is one. Or if I need a vascular input in MUH, again I would be referred to Galway. If you check with any hospital you can see what specialist services are provided so it really depends on the actual condition and the service required by the patient.”
A written reply from Mary Warde, Integrated Health Area Manager for Mayo, further stated: “Any decision to transfer a patient for care and treatment from Mayo University Hospital to another healthcare facility is based on the clinical need and the service best placed to meet or provide the treatment required. In line with national treatment pathways (head injury for example) there are established receiving hospitals.
There may be cases (for example in elective or less-urgent situations) where a patient may have a preference (based on an established treatment relationship with a specific consultant) and if appropriate and accepted for the transfer by the consultant, a patient would transfer to that facility. Where a patient is an adult and has capacity, decisions about their care and transfer are informed by the patient’s clinical need and discussion with the patient.”
