Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The question also relates to the speed with which it can be determined that an incident or a near miss has taken place. I would have thought that the simplest thing in the world would be to have a nationwide system whereby if an incident occurs, which is life threatening or has an impact on the quality of life of a patient for the rest of their lives and it has happened in many cases, that there should be an alarm system which immediately goes to all institutions all over the country.

It would say that there had been a near miss this morning or whenever and outline the circumstances in which it occurred. That is without prejudice to anybody. It is not admitting anything but is the corrective action that needs to be taken. I am sure the Chairman and every member of the committee have had cases reported to them where it was very obvious that something should have been done immediately to prevent a recurrence. There could be two or three similar cases within a short space of time, but nobody admits to anything and it drags on forever. Nobody gets any benefit from the experience. It is an unfortunate and sometimes tragic experience. Would it not be a good idea, in the context of either this legislation or other legislation, to have an officer appointed in each institution who could report, without prejudice, to a central authority which in turn can take action?