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Report of the Commission on Patient Safety and Quality Assurance

7th of August 2008 saw the publication of the Report of the Commission on Patient Safety and Quality Assurance, which was established by the Minister for Health in January 2007 following the revelation of certain failures in the Republic's health system, including the activities of Dr Michael Neary in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda.

The Commission's task was to develop recommendations that would enhance accountability and ensure the safety of patients within the health service. The general consensus following the report's publication is that the recommendations set out in it are indeed radical and wide-ranging.

Chief among the Commission's recommendations is the proposal that a system for the licensing of health service providers should be introduced which would cover both public and private hospitals, and oblige them to meet certain standards as a condition of obtaining a licence. The applicability of such a scheme to private hospitals is particularly significant in the wake of the Health Information and Quality Authority's inability to investigate breast cancer services in Barrington's Hospital in Limerick, due to the fact that it was a private hospital.

Another significant recommendation relates to the reporting of so-called "adverse incidents", i.e. those occasions when something goes wrong in the treatment of a patient. The Report recommends that it should be mandatory that such incidents should be reported and that the patients who suffer by virtue of these incidents should be informed of what occurred. Importantly, the Report goes on to recommend that the details of the adverse incidents should not be subject to disclosure in legal proceedings, though it is presumably the case that the patient to whom the details are disclosed will be better positioned to determine whether they have been treated negligently, regardless of the fact that their solicitor will not be able to obtain disclosure.

As well as increasing transparency and standards of treatment in the health service, the Commission for Patient Health and Quality Assurance was also charged with making recommendations in relation to "the participation of patients and carers and support staff in engaging with healthcare providers on health services planning and the quality of care received". It is to this end that the Commission recommends the establishment of a nationwide network of "patient advocates", who should work in partnership with healthcare organizations and others to represent the voice of patients.

These are just some of the many recommendations made by the Commission in its Report, each of which, if implemented, would undoubtedly ensure a more patient-driven and patient-focused health service, thereby creating an environment in which the scandals that have plagued the health service in the recent past will not be repeated.

Seeking Health Law Advice

For further information and advice regarding your legal rights and entitlements, please contact Malcomson Law by calling 01 8744422 or complete an Online Enquiry Form. Your enquiry will be forwarded to a solicitor who specialises in Medical Negligence.

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