Mr. Phelim Quinn:

I will take the issue of recommendation 1 and our call for the establishment of a patient advocacy service. Through listening to service users throughout this investigation, we are clear that they had lost confidence in what the HSE had in place. They were clearly saying to us that they needed the assurance of independent advocacy to help them navigate through both the investigation and complaints processes that follow on from adverse incidents or specific complains. It is on that basis that we have called for it to be independent. I appreciate that Deputy Regina Doherty referred to the fact that we have referenced the HSE here. Primarily, we believe it is the Department of Health that would take the lead in respect of the implementation of that particular recommendation.

When we look at patient advocacy in the context of a patient safety authority, that was initially articulated in the programme for Government. It is for the Government to determine what is within the confines of a patient safety authority. However, there is potential within a structure that embodies service improvement, quality improvement, patient advocacy, and regulation and oversight of services, to have conflicts of interest within the one body. I am not sure what happened in relation to the plans in respect of a patient safety agency, but there is a requirement here for an independent patient advocacy service as well as the regulation which is conducted by ourselves.