Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 June 2021
511. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Health if an emergency responder will be put in place given the important safeguarding role as it appears that HIQA do not monitor emails or answer telephone calls outside of business hours.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27201/21]
View answerThis Parliamentary Question relates to a service matter, as it concerns operational practices and procedures in addressing emergency safeguarding issues involving health and social care services, therefore it is a matter for the HSE. However, members of the Oireachtas are advised that the HSE is currently unable to access the information to answer Parliamentary Questions due to the recent cyber-attack, which has required a temporary shut-down of HSE IT systems. The disruption to service is on-going, and the HSE is working hard to restore its IT capacity and resume normal services. Members of the Oireachtas will be advised as soon as the HSE is again in a position to provide responses to PQs and are encouraged to resubmit their Parliamentary Questions at that point.
Within the health and social care sector, service providers are ultimately responsible for the safe care of their residents. For example, in relation to designated centres for older people, under Regulation 8 of the Health Act 2007 (Care and Welfare of Residents in Designated Centres for Older People) Regulations 2013 it is the legal responsibility of each registered provider to take all reasonable measures to protect residents from abuse. The National Standards on Adult Safeguarding applicable to health and social care settings, published in 2019 by the Health Information and Quality Authority and the Mental Health Commission, note that health and social care services have a responsibility to do everything possible to prevent harm as a result of abuse, neglect or exploitation, that services have a responsibility to ensure that if harm occurs or is likely to occur that it is stopped and reported as quickly as possible and that services must respond effectively when harm does occur in order to minimise the impact of harm.
In cases where there is an immediate or serious risk to a person's life or safety the emergency services should be contacted in the first instance. If a case of abuse is suspected to be a criminal matter, it should also be reported to An Garda Síochána for investigation and appropriate action.
The Deputy may also wish to note that my Department is currently finalising the development of an over-arching national policy on adult safeguarding in the health sector, which will be issued for public consultation.
