The Patient Safety (Licensing of Healthcare Facilities) Bill has been under development by my Department for some time. Once enacted, this Bill will, for the first time, introduce a licensing requirement for all public and private hospitals in Ireland, as well as certain designated high risk activities that take place outside a hospital setting.
The introduction of a system of licensing for healthcare providers stems from the Government Decision on the Report of the Commission of Patient Safety and Quality Assurance; followed by a commitment to legislative proposals in the previous Programme for Government and in “Future Health: A Strategic Framework for Reform of the Health Service 2012-2015”. As the Deputy will be aware, the Bill is listed in the Legislative Programme for the current session. It is my intention to move towards publication of the Bill later this year.
A Working Group, made up of officials from the Department of Health, the HSE, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), the Private Hospitals Association, the Hospital Group CEO Forum, and the Forum of Chief Executives of Health and Social Care Regulatory Bodies, has met regularly throughout 2016. This Group has been considering the draft General Scheme of a Patient Safety Licensing Bill, and providing feedback to inform and support the finalisation of the draft Heads. The Group has also been considering the practical implementation and operation of the licensing system.
While this work has not yet been fully completed, I can report that it is planned that HIQA would be the licensing authority granting or refusing applications. The awarding of a licence would be dependent on the applicant demonstrating compliance with the regulatory regime that will be introduced. The emphasis will be on an improvement approach, with a focus on effective governance and management accountability in acute hospitals, both public and private, and for high risk designated activities. In carrying out its functions, it is envisaged that HIQA will be balanced and targeted in its approach, having regard to best practice by others performing comparable functions to its own and be effective and efficient in the use of resources required for the purpose of performing its functions.
