Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The establishment of a patient safety agency is being reviewed in the context of the strategic reform of health services and the measures taken to strengthen patient safety, including advocacy and related services within the Health Service Executive. This review will allow the Minister for Health to decide on a course of action that will be in the best interests of patients. As the Deputy knows, this Government introduced the inspection by HIQA of units or locations catering for people with intellectual disabilities. It was because of that reform by this Government in extending HIQA oversight to such institutions that the dreadful scenes we saw in the coverage of Áras Attracta came to light. It is a priority for the Government and the Minister to address what has been a very distressing case for the patients and relatives.

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