Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 January 2018
471. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health the progress that has been made on the programme for Government commitment to establish an expert group to report within six months on options for reforming the law of torts and the claims process, particularly when it comes to birth injuries, catastrophic injuries and injuries that can result from vaccination; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4604/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra472. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health his views on whether the system of clinical and medical indemnity is inhumane and contributes to long legal battles before eventual apology and admission of liability and can add to the trauma of families; and his plans to reform the system of clinical and medical indemnity. [4605/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 471 and 472 together.
The commitment in the Programme for Partnership Government states "We will tackle the rising cost of claims by establishing an expert group to report within 6 months on options for reforming the law of torts and the current claims process, particularly when it comes to birth injuries and catastrophic injuries, and injuries that can result from vaccination." The Department of Health is examining the health related aspects which can be addressed within these parameters and, in this regard, is linking with the Department of Justice and Equality as tort legislation is within their remit.
Any adverse clinical incident is one too many and it is essential that we must learn from past experience in order to continue to deliver improved services. The management of clinical negligence cases taken against the State is delegated to the State Claims Agency (SCA) which has a statutory mandate to investigate and manage these cases to completion. In order to avoid distress to patients and their families, I am advised that the SCA, that wherever it is proper to do so and based on expert medical and legal advice, that the breaches of duty are admitted at the earliest possible opportunity. However, many of these cases, particularly those involving catastrophic injuries, are very complex in nature and require time to investigate and verify the cause and the liability. Inevitably, this involves some delay before a formal admission of liability, if appropriate, can be made.
Also, it is essential that we continue to improve the framework and timeline around the management of clinical claims and the payment of awards. In this regard, there has been significant progress on a suite of legislation in 2017, including the enacting of The Mediation Act, 2017 and The Civil Liability Amendment Act 2017. Work is also under way within the Department of Justice and Equality on framing regulations for Pre-Action Protocols under the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015, which are aimed at encouraging timely communications between parties and the early resolution of such actions.
Other important measures include the Government's agreement to support open disclosure of patient safety incidents in the Civil Liability Act 2017, the establishment of the National Patient Safety Office in my Department and the launch of the HSE’s Incident Management Framework on 24 January 2018.
