Margaret Conlon (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I will reiterate some of what Deputy Kathleen Lynch said. For any of us women fortunate enough to have had healthy pregnancies and deliver healthy babies, it is a life-changing experience. The other side of the coin is the traumatic experience for those who have had miscarriages. It can be very distressing and sad for such people and mistakes should not have happened.

Women build up very personal and intimate relationships with their doctors and obstetricians and rely on these professionals to guide and reassure them and to answer their questions. Women experience significant physical and emotional changes when pregnant and they need to be reassured and have confidence in the medical professionals with whom they deal. The day when women presented to a doctor - be it an obstetrician, gynaecologist or another medical professional - and listened without asking a question or saying anything is long gone. We should thank God for that. In most cases those professionals were men - this is not to show disrespect to them - but they thought they were God. I recall the story of a lady who was worried because she felt she was having a miscarriage. She presented to an obstetrician and explained her concerns, as she had already suffered a number of miscarriages. The obstetrician said, "My good woman, if you were on a plane going somewhere would you go up to the pilot and ask him if he knew how to fly the plane?" I wondered who he thought he was, and how dare he speak in that manner to any woman seeking reassurance. Thank God that attitude has changed and women are now asking questions and seeking the reassurance to which they are entitled.

I had my babies in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda and the treatment, care and attention I received was second to none. I know many people who had similar experiences. However, I know some people who did not have such happy experiences. That the hospital is now introducing a requirement for a second scan when a miscarriage is initially diagnosed is to be welcomed and perhaps it should always have been the practice. A decision on drugs or surgery must be signed off on by a consultant obstetrician, another welcome decision. I echo Deputy Kathleen Lynch's comments. Women have a gut instinct for when something is wrong and if there is a doubt, they should seek a second opinion.

Unfortunately, medicine is not an exact science; human errors occur and mistakes are made. As the Minister said last night, many years ago misdiagnoses and mistakes were covered up and swept under the carpet. People were afraid to speak out, which was not right. We must ensure we have expert clinical examination in all hospitals to reduce the element of misdiagnosis. It is not something unique to Ireland; it happens the world over but we must reduce the risks to patients.

Since I came to the House there have been many debates on health matters. Every time we have one, the finger is pointed at the Minister and questions are asked as to why she acted in such a way. We should be clear that the Minister is not reading X-rays, doing ultrasounds, looking at scans or diagnosing conditions. Where there are errors which are highlighted and brought to her attention, measures are put in place to correct them. We must put in place protocols to ensure they do not happen again and patient safety must be at the heart of everything we do.

We can be critical of the HSE - I have been known to be critical of it - but I welcome the setting up of the HIQA. People agree that it is working well and independently setting standards, monitoring and enforcing them and ensuring they are implemented. I also welcome the legislation on whistelblowing introduced a number of years ago. For far too long people were afraid to do this and there is an onus on people working in the health profession in this regard. If there is something wrong and a person sees an action being taken in an incorrect or unsafe manner that puts patients at risk, there is an onus on that person to report it. There must be protection for such a whistleblower. I agree with Deputy Flynn's comments last night that an audit of machines should be carried out to ensure they are working properly. After a number of years a car must go through the national car test and why should machines being used to diagnose conditions be any different?

I will conclude by expressing my sympathy to those women affected by the misdiagnoses and who endured unnecessary trauma and upset. The Minister is committed to patient safety and will continue to place it at the heart of her work.

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