Sisters of Charity transfer shares in St Vincent’s Healthcare group to new company
Vincent’s Over Dublin A St The New The Of Order Co Lazarov Of Construction Which Follows Hospital Move Involvement Sasko As Years Ie Rollingnews The In Located Picture: Hospital / In Controversy Is Maternity Under With Hospital,
The Religious Sisters of Charity have finalised the transfer of shares in the St Vincent’s Healthcare Group, meaning their involvement in maternity care is now finished, the hospital group has said.
This follows years of controversy over the involvement of the order in the new maternity hospital, which is under construction as a co-located hospital with St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin.
However, on Thursday, chair of SVHG James Menton welcomed the share transfer as “very significant” for the Irish health system.
“The sisters’ role in the development of modern healthcare for Irish people from all walks of life cannot be underestimated and we thank them sincerely for their commitment, dedication and service,” he said.
“Moreover, we are very grateful to them for vesting substantial and valued healthcare facilities in the St Vincent’s Healthcare Group (as represented by shareholders’ funds in SVHG of €204m as at 31 December 2020).”
He first announced this planned transfer in May 2017.
Sr Patricia Lenihan, superior general, welcomed the move. The order founded St Vincent’s Hospital in 1834 and was also one of the four orders involved in running Magdalene laundries.
“We will have no role in the future of the new independent charity, the St Vincent’s Healthcare Group, St Vincent’s Holding CLG or the new National Maternity Hospital,” she said.
Members of the order will continue to work in with Focus Ireland, Turn off the Red Light and other charitable work as well as remaining in education, she said.
A spokeswoman for SVHG said the new company — St Vincent’s Holdings CLG — is a not-for-profit with charity status.
The directors of St Vincent’s Holdings CLG are Michael Keane, a respiratory consultant at St Vincent’s private hospital, David Brophy, vascular and interventional radiologist at St Vincent’s Hospital, and Sharen McCabe, director of McCabes Pharmacy.
The hospital group includes St Vincent’s University Hospital, St Vincent’s Private Hospital in Dublin, and St Michael’s Hospital in Dún Laoghaire. The group’s board includes Dr Rhona Mahony, obstetrician and former master of the National Maternity Hospital.
Dr Peter Boylan, a former master at the NMH, said, however, concerns remain.
Responding to the announcement, he said:
He said the directors own the holding company and queried why there did not seem to be any proposed members from the NMH.
“The holding company owns St Vincent’s Healthcare Group, so you now have the position where two of the employees of one of the hospitals the holding group owns now own the holding company,” he said.
A spokeswoman for the hospital group said: "The values of SVHG are human dignity, compassion, justice, quality and advocacy, values that are not 'owned' by any secular or religious organisation but which are appropriate for any organisation providing health care."
She added: "For the absence of doubt, all medical procedures legally permissible in Ireland are and will be available in SVHG hospitals.
Last month, the HSE board approved proposals to guarantee the independence of the National Maternity Hospital within the healthcare group.
However, the deputy chair Professor Deidre Madden, University College Cork, and patient advocate Dr Sarah McLoughlin did not agree with this decision. Board minutes show they continued to have concerns regarding legal ownership of the site and building as well as governance of the new maternity hospital.
Clinicians working at NMH recently wrote to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly saying they felt “misinformation” about access to services was unnecessarily delaying the re-location.