Ms Margaret Murphy:

I have a number of points, the first of which concerns becoming overprotective in making a disclosure. The reality is that there is a very high level of overprotection. People are very careful about what they disclose. I cannot see it getting any worse; it is bad enough as it is.

It was absolutely wonderful to hear the Chairman describe what he and his colleague had in place. As a family, we have seen the dark side of health care, but we have also seen its bright side. Currently, our family are enjoying very good care from particular individuals in the health care system and it is right that I acknowledge it. I become very uncomfortable when I hear about the complexity of health care, that it is something special and different and that situations need to be handled differently from how they are handled in other industries. Open disclosure underpinned by legislation would be a comfort to health care professionals who want to disclose. They are doing it within the confines of the law and it would be a very real comfort to them. It would also be a great example for others.

Dr. Albert Wu talks about the golden moment, which he says is in the days and weeks immediately following an adverse event. He acknowledges all of the reasons Mr. Ciarán Breen mentioned people do not disclose or have an aversion to disclosing because they are very real concerns for individuals. Mandatory open disclosure will drive the training and supports that will be necessary to allow people to engage in it. It will help them to do it even better than the training provided. It will become the way things are done. It will be a big task and it will not be easy. A job of work will have to be done. It is not just about writing a few lines in a statute. I am totally convinced that it will be a wonderful job of work that will benefit patients, families, clinicians and the health care system as a whole. We are wonderful at writing policies and I see policies from all over the world. Ours are up there with the best of them, but we are absolutely rubbish at implementation.