A company that received almost €55 million from the State to tackle hospital waiting lists sought direct talks with Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and lobbied several Ministers as new controls were imposed on the scheme. EHF29 Ltd is a major supplier of hospital insourcing services. Insourcing involves private companies receiving State funds to pay public healthcare staff to treat waiting list patients at night-time and weekends. These companies use public hospital equipment and facilities. Dr Walsh, formerly a consultant anaesthetist and clinical director of Cork University Hospital, said the company had co-ordinated the care of 290,000 public waiting list patients.
