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Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has asked the Health Service Executive to suspend vaccination operations at Dublin’s Beacon Hospital.
It follows revelations that the privately owned hospital administered 20 leftover Covid-19 vaccines to multiple teachers at St Gerard’s School in Bray.
In a statement today, Donnelly said: “The provision of vaccines by Beacon Hospital to a school was completely inappropriate and completely unacceptable.
“I have considered this matter carefully and have worked with HSE to assess the operational implications of suspending vaccination operations at Beacon Hospital Dublin.
“Now I have asked HSE to suspend vaccination operations at Beacon Hospital with the exception of those people who are already scheduled to receive their vaccination at the center.
“The HSE is implementing alternative arrangements. In addition, I have asked the HSE to appoint a senior official to immediately review what happened and make recommendations regarding necessary actions or changes.”
A spokesperson for Taoiseach Micheál Martin said: “Vaccines belong to the Irish people. There are clear rules and guidelines regarding their administration.
“These prioritize the most vulnerable and front-line healthcare workers. There are specific rules regarding the allocation of leftover vaccines at the end of a day’s administration.”
“Clearly, these rules and guidelines were violated by The Beacon Hospital.
“What happened was wrong and a breach of trust. Such behavior undermines trust in the vaccination program.”
The spokesperson continued: “The CEO is accountable for his actions to The Beacon Hospital board.”
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said that the decision to suspend the contract was correct.
“This really hit a nerve with people, especially the elderly and medically vulnerable people who had been waiting to get their vaccine. A response was needed.
“It was a clear violation of government rules and it just shouldn’t have happened. I’d be interested to know what alternatives were actually explored: if vaccines were offered to the gardaí in Dundrum, what about special education teachers and SNAs in schools local, local disability services, hospital patients who might have been well enough to be vaccinated, for example. “
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Earlier, the president of the Irish Secondary Teachers Association said that the vaccination of teachers in a school by Beacon Hospital, first revealed in the Irish Daily Mail, “was not the right thing to do”.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with Katie Hannon, Ann Piggott said the teachers who received the vaccines “may well have been ASTI members,” but could not confirm this.
He said that in this case the HSE guidelines on contingency planning for vaccine administration should have been followed.
“It’s wrong, it shouldn’t happen, it’s unfortunate,” he added.
A Fine Gael minister said that vaccinating Beacon Hospital staff at a school eight miles away was “completely unacceptable” and that there must be “responsibility.”
When asked if the chief executive of the hospital should resign, Foreign Development Minister Colm Brophy said that the company that runs the hospital should carry out an investigation and decide the correct course of action.
Sinn Féin Health David Cullinane said the suspension of the vaccination operation at the Beacon was “welcome” and the right decision.
He said: “We need full accountability regarding this situation. This should not have happened and there is no excuse.
“The minister should not have taken so long to act. Public confidence in the vaccine deployment is crucial and is again undermined.”
Peadar Tóibín de Aontú said he understood that 5,000 nursing home residents were not yet fully vaccinated.
The information was contained in a parliamentary question from the Department of Health.
Tóibín said that nursing homes cater to the most vulnerable. He also criticized the government for not exiting the EU hiring process.
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said what happened at the Beacon underscores the “need to end private education and healthcare.”
He said in a statement: “While these vaccines were administered to private school teachers 14 km down the road, there were patients in the hospital who needed them and were waiting for them. There is no excuse for what happened.”
“This is a by-product of a privatized healthcare system where getting ahead if you can pay or are elite is just the norm. We deserve better. There should be no private hospitals and there should be no private schools.”
Neale Richmond, Fine Gael TD for Dublin-Rathdown, where the Beacon Hospital is located, requested a full HSE audit of the hospital.
“The decision of the CEO of Beacon Hospital to ignore clear protocols and give vital Covid vaccines to teachers at a school 14 kilometers away was both reprehensible and infuriating,” he said.
“Within 5 km of the hospital, there are no less than 27 GPs who have waiting lists of deserving people in the next cohort. That should have been the first port of call, there was enough time to do this.”
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