DUBLIN, Ireland: The head of Ireland's Health Service Executive (HSE), Bernard Gloster, has said he is very concerned about claims that a doctor may have misused the public hospital waiting list system, causing delays for sick children needing surgery.

He was reacting to a report in The Sunday Times, which said that a consultant broke HSE rules by sending patients from his public hospital practice to his private weekend clinics. This meant they didn't get faster treatment through the HSE system, which would have been possible if the doctor had referred them to other HSE doctors.

The report also said that this doctor was paid thousands of euros through the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF). This fund pays private hospitals and doctors to treat patients who are stuck on public waiting lists.

The details came from an internal investigation done by Children's Health Ireland (CHI). Gloster said he didn't know about this investigation until the newspaper report came out.

Speaking on RTÉ's This Week radio program, Gloster said, "The contents of the report are shocking. I'm even more shocked that nobody informed me about it, especially given all the work we've been doing with CHI in recent months."

He added that this was not the fault of CHI's new chief executive, Lucy Nugent and that he had briefly spoken to her.

Gloster said the report didn't just focus on the consultant's actions but also raised other concerns about the culture within CHI. He has now asked for a full copy of the report and said most of it—apart from any very personal information—should be made public.

He stressed that if there is any sign that public money was misused or that someone unfairly benefited financially from the public health system, he will immediately refer the matter to the police (Gardaí).

"But I want to be very clear, I've asked for a copy of the report myself, I have said to the CEO of CHI that I expect her and her board – other than or save for highly personal information – that that report should be published in the public interest.

"And I have made it clear that I reserve my position based on what I see in that report as to whether or not further questions arise and if any question arises, can I assure you, of anything connected with, or near connected with, alleged people ingratiating themselves financially in the public health system, the first step I'll be taking is to refer that matter to the gardai."