Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Following its pre-legislative discussion of the Bill, the Joint Committee in Health issued a report showing that the evidence to show voluntary disclosure is preferable to mandatory disclosure is drawn from one study published in 2000. The study was cited by the Commission on Patient Safety and Quality Assurance in 2008. Given that the study was carried out 17 years ago, it no longer may be considered definitive.

Our amendments address the issue of so-called near misses by mandating the reporting of near misses as well as incidents in which someone is hurt. It is argued that mandating the reporting of near misses places too high a burden on service providers. The way the section on open disclosures meetings is structured, such a meeting very easily could be a quick chat and the only burden would be to provide the person concerned with a one-page document. The meeting does not need to be a major affair at all times and can be informal. As such, it need not be a major burden or problem for the service provider.