Vol. 510 No. 5
55 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will publish a report on indication of quality of service in Irish hospitals similar to that published by the Direction de 'Assistance Publique - Hopitaux de Paris (details supplied) to enable relevant performance comparisons to be made. [21018/99]
My Department is aware of recent developments in this area in France and a number of other countries. I am supportive of approaches, which allow for fair comparison of performance between hospitals, be it at national or local level. I note that the material referenced by the Deputy is related to the establishment of a national health service accreditation programme in France. In this context, I am pleased that the scheme to put in place an accreditation programme for our major academic teaching hospitals, which I have resourced, is making excellent progress. The programme is designed to be ready by the end of next year and I am certain it will make a major contribution to measuring the quality of care against objective standards and promoting best performance in our hospitals.
