21 Jan 2015, 16:02
The rising costs of professional medical indemnity insurance on the agenda of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children tomorrow when the doctors’ and consultants’ representatives will appear before the Committee.
21 January 2015
Representatives from the State Claims Agency, which operates a clinical indemnity scheme for the public sector, will also address the Committee, along with the Medical Protection Society, a non-profit mutual organisation which provides cover for most Irish consultants.
Addressing the Committee tomorrow will be:
• Martin Varley, Secretary General, Irish Hospital Consultants Association;
• Susan Clyne, Irish Medical Organisation;
• Ciaran Breen, Director, State Claims Agency (SCA), and
• Simon Kayll, Chief Executive, Medical Protection Society (MPS)
A follow-up meeting scheduled for Tuesday 27 January is likely to hear from a range of patient perspectives.
Committee Chair Jerry Buttimer TD says: “The rising cost of clinical indemnity insurance is a source of concern to the Committee, particularly given the knock-on impact on wider healthcare costs. Tomorrow, we will hear from representatives of medical practitioners, who have seen premium costs for some specialities double in the last two years. The Committee will also gain from the perspectives of the SCA and the MPS on what policy choices are necessary to reduce these costs. The issue of medical negligence is complex and emotive and the Committee also looks forward to hearing evidence on the perspectives of patients’ groups and from the Law Society on Tuesday next.”
The meeting will start at 9:30 am in Committee Room 2, LH2000, tomorrow 22 January 2015. It will be followed by a session with the EU Health Commissioner (see separate press release). Committee proceedings can be viewed live here.
Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the move, through the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.
Media enquiries to:
Paul Hand,
Communications Unit,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
P: +3531 618 4484
M: +353 87 694 9926
paul.hand@oireachtas.ie
Committee Membership:
Deputies: Jerry Buttimer (Chair), Catherine Byrne, Ciara Conway (Vice-Chair), Regina Doherty, Robert Dowds, Peter M Fitzpatrick, Seamus Healy, Billy Kelleher, Eamonn Maloney, Clare Daly, Sandra McLellan, Dan Neville, Mary Mitchell O’Connor, Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin and Robert Troy
Senators: Colm Burke, John Crown, John Gilroy, Imelda Henry, Marc Mac Sharry and Jillian Van Turnhout