Harney Announces Plans For Licensing Healthcare Providers

The Department of Health and Children has announced plans to implement the Report of the Commission on Patient Safety and Quality Assurance, principally, the Government's decision to prepare legislation for the licensing of healthcare providers.

The Minister for Health and Children established the Commission on Patient Safety and Quality Assurance in January 2007 to develop clear and practical recommendations to ensure the safety of patients and the delivery of high quality health and personal social services.

The Commission's Report sets out a comprehensive policy framework to ensure Patient Safety and Quality in the Irish health service.

The Minister for Health and Children, Mary Harney T.D. said "The Government places great importance on the policies and practical reforms we are implementing to ensure patient safety and quality-assured health services.

"I am pleased to announce today that the Government, having considered the Report of the Commission on Patient Safety and Quality Assurance, have decided to draw up legislation to give effect to its central recommendation on the licensing of both public and private healthcare providers.

"The licensing system will establish objective, mandatory standards and compliance with standards will be legally required for every hospital or healthcare provider. The legislation will be complex, and it is important that we start out on the legislative path now.

"The Government also strongly support improved governance in our hospitals, and in particular, the introduction of systematic audit of clinical practice and outcomes for patients.

"Had such a system been in place, practices which have had catastrophic effects for patients, for example, the pattern of interventions by Dr Neary at Our Lady of Lourdes

Hospital in Drogheda in the 1990s, would have been picked up and stopped earlier," she claimed.

In regard to licensing of healthcare providers, the Commission recommended that both public and private providers should be covered and licensing should commence with acute hospitals.

It recommended a health service-wide system of governance based on corporate accountability for the implementation of nationally agreed managerial and clinical standards.

Its recommendations also include a mandatory system of adverse event reporting, legal protection and privilege for open disclosure which is undertaken in good faith, exemption from FOI legislation and legal discovery of data collected solely for the purposes of improving safety and quality of healthcare.

According to the plan, the system of licensing will be self-financing, involving all service providers paying licence fees that will cover the cost of the administration and inspection regime which such a system will necessitate.