Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 January 2024
1460. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health which recommendations from the 2015 Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children Report on the Cost of Medical Indemnity Insurance have been implemented; the plans for those recommendations which have not been implemented yet; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56348/23]
View answerThe cost of health-related claims has increased from €75.3m in 2010 to €481m in 2022. Many of the issues/recommendations highlighted in the Joint Committee on Health and Children's Report on the Cost of Medical Indemnity Insurance, published in June 2015, are also relevant in the context of the increased cost of health-related claims.
A significant body of work has been undertaken and a number of initiatives are currently underway with a view to addressing the cost of health related claims. These include:
• Government's establishment of the 'Expert Group on Tort Reform and the Management of Clinical Negligence Claims' chaired by Mr. Justice Charles Meenan in 2018, which examined tort law as it currently applies to personal injuries arising in the healthcare context and considered options for its reform. The Report of the Group (the Meenan Report) was published in December 2020.
• The enactment of the Patient Safety Act 2023, which provides a legislative framework for a number of important patient safety issues, including the mandatory open disclosure of a list of specified serious patient safety incidents that must be disclosed to the patient and/or their family, and the expansion of HIQA’s remit into private hospital services.
• The publication of the National Open Disclosure Framework, by my Department in October 2023, which complements the Patient Safety Act 2023 and aims to promote a clear and consistent approach to open communication, by health and social care organisations, where appropriate, with patients and service users and their relevant support person, following a patient safety incident or an adverse event.
• Government's establishment of an 'Interdepartmental Working Group to examine the rising cost of health-related claims' in January 2023. The Group is chaired independently by Dr. Rhona Mahony and is comprised of membership from across relevant Government Departments and Agencies. The Group’s considerations include developing a plan to implement risk management and other initiatives to reduce the occurrence of adverse incidents, examining best international practice, receiving updates on the implementation of the Meenan Report along with other civil justice reforms that are currently being undertaken by my colleague, the Minister for Justice and considering the policy and health system’s approach to mass claims. The work of the Group is well underway and it is expected to report early in 2024.
• My colleague, the Minister for Justice has also taken steps to progress the implementation of pre-action protocols in relation to clinical negligence actions and periodic payment orders.
