Mr. Tony O'Brien:

I thank the Chairman and members for the opportunity to attend this meeting. I am joined by Laverne McGuinness, Barry O' Brien, Dr. Philip Crowley and Mr. Patrick Burke.

I will cover four issues in my opening remarks. The first of these is the HIQA investigation into the tragic death of Ms Savita Halappanavar at University Hospital Galway on 28 October. The HSE requested that HIQA conduct an investigation into the events surrounding Ms Halappanavar's death and on behalf of the HSE I want to express our appreciation for the considerable work undertaken by HIQA in conducting a thorough investigation and compiling a comprehensive report. Also on behalf of the HSE, I once again wish to express our sympathy and to apologise unreservedly for the shortcomings in the level of care afforded to Ms Halappanavar that contributed to her death.

I have appointed Ian Carter, our national director of acute hospital services, to oversee the implementation of the recommendations. An implementation team had already been established by the HSE in anticipation of the findings of three reports. This team is currently overseeing the implementation of the recommendations from the coroner and from Professor Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran’s report. I have now directed that this team’s work be expanded to include the findings of the HIQA report to ensure that lessons from Ms Halappanavar's death are applicable nationally.

On the issue of non-consultant hospital doctors, NCHDs, implementing the European working time directive, EWTD, this is a significant challenge for the health service and has been a vexed issue for some years. I do not for a moment dispute the fact that the level of hours worked by NCHDs needs to be reduced to a sustainable level, but I would make the following important points. The key drivers of NCHD hours are service needs and the amount of hours NCHDs work is determined by the rosters which consultants, clinical directors and service managers identify as needed to meet those service needs. Maintaining services to the public and meeting the requirements of the directive poses a significant challenge to the health service.