Vol. 531 No. 4
88 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Health and Children his views on the recent proposal by the Attorney General that there should be a system of mandatory mediation to avoid litigation in cases of medical negligence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5973/01]
In the course of his concluding remarks at a recent conference on medical indemnity which he chaired, the Attorney General, speaking in a per sonal capacity, made a number of constructive suggestions which would allow patients to resolve disputes with hospitals and doctors without the need to resort to litigation. Among the ideas mentioned was mediation. The introduction of enterprise liability as the basis for indemnifying doctors and hospitals will facilitate the use of mediation and other alternative dispute resolution procedures as it will reduce the number of interests on the defence side who will need to agree on issues such as liability.
