Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 23 May 2012
203 Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Health the action he now proposes to take to deal with all the recommendations of the Health Information Quality Authority published in respect of Tallaght Hospital, Dublin; if he will appreciate the need to restore public confidence in the hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25729/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraI want to offer my deepest sympathies to the family concerned. We must never forget that this report is first and foremost about patient safety and that it all began because of the death of a patient on a trolley in a corridor adjacent to the Emergency Department.
I believe however that patients in all of our acute hospitals need the assurance that this matter is being dealt with in an effective way, that lessons have been learned and that Quality Assurance Systems are being put in place across the country This report as an important element in driving the Health Reform Programme which is focusing on and prioritising patient safety and best governance. The HIQA report gives us a template for hospital governance as we move to the establishment of the new Hospital Groups to be established this year.
Many changes have already happened in Tallaght Hospital and the report acknowledges this. The practice of leaving patients waiting on trolleys for admission in a corridor adjacent to the Emergency Department was clinically unsafe and completely unacceptable. This has been stopped.
The report found that there was no clarity as to who was providing medical supervision of these patients. This is completely unacceptable. For that reason the Chief Medical Officer has referred the report to the Medical Council and An Bord Altranais to ask them to address the significant issues that arise. The CEO of HIQA wrote to me last November because of her concerns about the deficits in governance and management at the hospital. As a result a new interim Board, chaired by Sir Keith Pearson was appointed last December. A new CEO is in place who is building a new management team including clinical leadership.
Safe quality health care is a fundamental principle of the reform programme. I have approved the HIQA National Standards for Safer Better Healthcare to underpin the development of quality safe healthcare services. The National Standards also describe what capacity and capability factors service providers require to implement these Standards. Service providers, including the private (independent) service providers, can use the National Standards as a framework to organise, manage and deliver their services safely. It is also important to recognise that the staff of the hospital have a hugely important role in responding to the challenges ahead and in restoring and supporting this Hospital to achieve its potential.
