Mary Wallace (Meath East, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputies Simon Coveney, Kathleen Lynch, Bernard Allen and Ciarán Lynch for raising this important matter. I assure the Deputies that the Minister and the HSE are committed to the highest level of patient safety in our hospitals and throughout the health service. The issue of safety in the delivery of health services lies at the heart of any care system which has the confidence of the people using these services. While the health sector is one of the most complex areas of activity in every country, it must by its very nature command the confidence of those who use it. To obtain this confidence, the measures which must be undertaken are fundamental. The patient safety and quality agenda is, in effect, fully prioritised.

Two major initiatives in the past 18 months have addressed and reinforced this message. In May 2007 the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, and the Office of the Chief Inspector of Social Services were established to bring about a safer health and social services system which embeds quality at all levels and in all settings. HIQA is responsible for setting and monitoring standards across health institutions and services in the public sector.

In January 2007 the Minister established the Commission on Patient Safety and Quality Assurance. One of its functions is to examine and develop proposals for a health service-wide system of governance based on corporate accountability. Other key areas which the commission is examining are clinical audit, critical incident reporting and the participation of patients and carers in health service planning and provision of feedback on quality of care. The commission is expected to report by July 2008. The Minister looks forward to receiving this report, which will build on and inform the further development of the current system. The foregoing initiatives are firm indicators of the Minister's commitment in the area of patient safety.

Cork University Hospital is the largest acute hospital delivering health care in the HSE southern region. It is a multi-specialty hospital in which many clinical and infrastructural challenges are faced on a day-to-day basis. The hospital has more than 26,000 admissions each year, excluding day cases, with more than 50% of these patients admitted via the emergency department. The Minister was concerned to learn in recent days of the matters which the Deputies have raised this evening with regard to the alleged lapses in the care provided recently to two patients at Cork University Hospital. The HSE has advised the Minister that Cork University Hospital operates a quality and accreditation programme which incorporates a process for managing adverse incidents for patients and staff. The Minister understands that the general manager, together with senior nursing, medical and clinical governance personnel at the hospital, and of the HSE southern region, has undertaken a detailed investigation of the matters concerned and is satisfied that the care in these cases was appropriate.

The HSE advises that the key facts regarding the care of the two patients in question are as follows. With regard to the woman who was alleged to have waited an inordinate amount of time for an amputation operation, from initial notification of the theatre team to their achievement of a state of readiness to accept the patient, the time elapsed was one hour and 25 minutes, not five hours as may have been suggested.

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