Beacon Hospital vaccines Q&A: All you need to know

The Health Service Executive review of the vaccination of teachers at the private Beacon Hospital has brought a renewed focus on a major controversy from the early months of the vaccine rollout. How did it all play out and what happens next?

What was the issue with vaccinating the teachers?

The vaccine programme was in its early stages in March. Frontline healthcare staff were prioritised for the jabs at a time when the number of vaccines available in Ireland was very limited and supplies were uncertain. There was public outrage when it emerged that 20 teachers from St Gerard’s in Bray – a private school attended by some of Beacon Hospital chief executive Michael Cullen’s children – got the jabs ahead of their place in the queue.

What did the Beacon say at the time?

The hospital said the issue arose on March 23rd after HSE staff were double-booked to receive vaccinations at a different centre. Efforts were made to redirect them to the Beacon but there were 20 doses “left over” that had to be used within a very short period of time. A decision was made to administer the doses to the teachers who were in a position to get to the hospital that evening. Mr Cullen said the decision was made under time pressure to ensure the vaccines did not go to waste. He apologised for the upset that the decision caused. The board of the Beacon asked Eugene McCague, a former managing partner of law firm Arthur Cox, to conduct a review of what happened.

What did the Government say?

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly suspended the operation of a vaccination centre at the Beacon. He said the vaccinations of the teachers ahead of their place in the schedule, was “entirely inappropriate and completely unacceptable”. He asked the HSE to review the vaccination programme at the hospital. Cornelia Stuart, a retired HSE assistant national director was appointed to carry it out.

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And the school?

St Gerard’s sent a letter to parents at the time saying the individuals in the school who dealt with the matter and those who received the vaccines did so in good faith. It insisted it was assured by the hospital that the vaccinations “had HSE permission” and was appropriate.

What happened next?

Mr McCague completed his review and part of that 170-page report was released by the hospital in July. The report found the decision to provide vaccines to the teachers was incorrect but made in good faith. It found that the HSE had not given permission for surplus vaccines to be provided to teachers. It said the decision was taken by Mr Cullen alone but had been made “in good faith”. The report said the decision was taken by Mr Cullen “in a time-pressured situation in the mistaken belief that the risk of doses being wasted entitled Beacon to administer the doses to anyone who was available, other than patients”. The board of the Beacon said in July it regretted the series of events that had happened and apologised for the upset caused. It retained “full confidence” in Mr Cullen.

What did the HSE’s review find?

The review carried out for the HSE found the Beacon provided surplus Covid-19 vaccines to the teachers last March without considering alternative people or groups higher up the official sequencing list. The Beacon’s submissions to the review cast doubt on whether health workers would have arrived in time but the reviewer believed this was “not a correct assertion”. The Beacon also said it did not believe other suitable individuals could have found at such short notice and in its view, all of the alternative groups suggested would have been out of sequence.

So what happens now?

That is unclear. The report includes no specific recommendations. The Irish Times asked the Department of Health if Mr Donnelly will be taking any action on the back of the report’s findings. The department did not address the question.