At the outset, I would like to acknowledge the strength and courage of the families who spoke out about their experiences in Portlaoise Hospital. Motivated by the desire to ensure that other families would not suffer as they had, they voiced their concerns. We must ensure that the opportunity provided by the HIQA Investigation Report on Services at Portlaoise Hospital to learn from the mistakes of the past, and to put things right for the future, is not missed. That is the least we owe to the families who spoke out.
I am strongly of the view that any new patient advocacy service should be set up independent of the HSE from the outset. I do not think that people would trust a patient advocacy service to advocate on their behalf to the HSE, if the people working in it were employees of the HSE. My view has been supported by the recommendation made in the HIQA Investigation Report for the need to establish an independent patient advocacy agency.
I am keen to get an independent national patient advocacy service up and running as soon as possible. The scope, role and functions of the independent advocacy service need to be considered along with the appropriate structural, governance and funding arrangements that need to be put in place. My Department will be consulting widely on the best way to get the service up and running in the shortest possible timeframe.