Hospital Procedures

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 July 2013

Thursday, 11 July 2013

Ceisteanna (239)

Patrick Nulty

Ceist:

239. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Health if his Department, the Health Service Executive or the Health Information Quality Authority has plans to monitor, collate and report on a regular basis on the death rates of patients undergoing major surgery at hospitals to identify variations if they exist, to address such variations with corrective action and to improve standards in hospitals by publishing such data; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34048/13]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

It is important for a health system and the people it serves that it collects, analyses and interprets high quality information about is performance against its objectives, including quality and safety objectives. This information can be used to inform decisions about the planning, design and delivery of services, to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and safety of services and to identify areas of performance which may require further exploration and action. The Department of Health recognises this as an important issue and the office of the Chief Medical Officer in the Department has been focusing on this agenda. Currently, the Department is working with the HSE and HIQA on this agenda, focusing on generic quality and safety indicators. The Minister hopes to be in a position to announce further developments in this area towards the end of the year.