Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. At the outset I express my sincere sympathies to all those affected by the recent revelations; not just those about whom we have heard but those who continue to suffer in silence. There are some who will never find closure because there is no effective methodology to provide such people with the ultimate answer to the hanging question arising from what we have come to learn in recent times.

All these incidents are serious and they must be treated as such. They are extremely distressing for prospective parents and extended families. Deputy Conlon spoke about the trauma of so many people who yearn for a family and are unable to conceive for various reasons. We have heard about this in the debate on foreign adoptions and the distress, trauma and pain that such desire can inflict on so many people. Adding the complexities associated with miscarriage where there could have been a family for prospective parents, one can understand the distress and pressure that will exist forever in some cases. There is no resolution in such a case. I compliment the Minister and the Department on what I believe is an effective methodology to deal with this crisis. The miscarriage misdiagnosis review team has been set up and we look forward to a report being published within the next six months. As I stated at the outset, this will not provide the answers but I hope it will provide enough information and insight into what happened so that we can devise a system that ensures not just patient safety in future but, more importantly, patient confidence in the system.

I was taken to some extent by what Deputy Kathleen Lynch said about confidence in our health system and equipment, as referred to by Deputy Conlon. There should be overall confidence in the health system. I am bemused by some people in the Opposition who speak about needing to build that confidence but who continue to come to this House on an ongoing basis and for political purposes seek to highlight a particular issue, not accepting that there is a standard across international best practice recognising that mistakes are made and are an inherent part of the health service. I do not refer specifically to Deputy Lynch in this regard.

I was taken by recent comments by Professor Tom Keane, who has moved on from his role as head of the national cancer strategy. He has developed a very successful model for cancer treatment and care in Canada but never had to go before a parliamentary committee there. There was never a question in the Canadian Parliament on the work he did and never was there a continuous politicisation of cancer care. This case is slightly different but if we are to build confidence in the mind of the public we must put away the political sword and build confidence, although recognising that mistakes will be made. We seek through general political dialogue to deal with issues within our control rather than outside it.

There is also an emerging trend where medical professionals want to work in areas that do not lend themselves to becoming involved in diagnosis because of the potential for mistakes and to be pilloried in society. We have seen this with anaesthesiologists, those reading scans and involved in various other such areas. While it might appear correct to be upset in this House about an issue we must be careful not to undermine confidence in the system or prevent professionals involving themselves in cases in the future.

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