Ms Laura Casey:

There are a number of avenues. It is an issue across the health sector more generally, not just the nursing home sector. The Department is undertaking several pieces of work on examining patient complaint and patient safety incident policies across the system. The intention is to try to have a standardised process and to examine the external recourse for complaints. Several pieces of work are ongoing on developing a standardised system across the health sector. Currently, HIQA does not investigate complaints, and this issue is being considered within that process.

An area where a decision has been taken to give HIQA a new power is in serious patient safety incidents. The Minister will table an amendment to the patient safety Bill to provide the chief inspector with a discretionary power in circumstances where there is a serious patient safety incident involving a resident where part of his or her care is provided in a nursing home. In specific cases, this will allow HIQA to examine the incident, not just within the nursing home but within the broader health system. I believe the Minister will be tabling that amendment later this month.