Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I was a very strong supporter of a patient safety authority that would be able to move into hospitals and deal very quickly with issues or incidents as they arise. As I said in response to the Deputy's earlier question, disciplinary measures are available to deal with incidents involving doctors and nurses, but not in respect of management. This is the first time that a completely independent report has laid responsibility for these failures, tragic as they were, on management.

The report makes eight recommendations, four for the Department and four more for the HSE. The report's first recommendation, as the Deputy is aware, is the establishment of an independent patient advocacy service to be truly independent of the HSE. The Minister has accepted all these recommendations and is now setting out to provide the recommendation of the HIQA report which is for a patient advocacy service completely independent of the HSE to be in position by May 2016. That is the recommendation of the body that is the authority here in respect of unannounced inspections and setting the standards. I accept the report; the Government accepts the report.

In respect of this service, the first recommendation is that it be completely independent of the HSE and the Minister will go with that.

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