Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The damned lies would not be done over here either. Some days ago I referred to the perinatal pathology services in the context of the debate on Portlaoise hospital. It is critically important that people have confidence in the statistics and that the statistics cannot be massaged and manipulated for various, sometimes nefarious, reasons such as when it is tried to suggest there is a deficiency in a service when it is just a statistical blip due to small numbers. I understand all of this.

On the issue of MRSA in hospitals and trying to get hospitals to be cleaner, only when the information was being published did hospitals across the service become motivated and concentrate on making an effort to encourage staff, clinicians and management to work together to address it. When information is available, people can make informed decisions on whether a hospital is run well and whether the clinical outcomes are correct. It should be part and parcel of the agency if HIQA is unable or incapable of doing it.

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