Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputies will agree that this is groundbreaking legislation. It may well be overdue but it is appropriate and novel.

The important aspect of section 10 is that we ensure that there will be cultural buy-in to this new legislation. In this regard, the Bill provides for certain protections for information given to the patient at an open disclosure meeting, including that the information and written statement given to the patient are not admissible as evidence of fault or acceptance of liability regarding the patient safety incident or in any subsequent medical negligence action that might arise from the consequences of the incident. I will briefly set out why the provisions were included.

It has been said before that the perceived fears of medico-legal consequences of open disclosure can act as an obstacle to that disclosure. This was recognised by the Commission on Patient Safety and Quality Assurance in its report, Building a Culture of Patient Safety. The commission recommended that legislation should ensure that open disclosure, which is undertaken in compliance with national standards, cannot be used in litigation against the person making the disclosure. The HSE evaluation of the national open disclosure pilot also identified what can be described as a perceived fear of medico-legal consequences as presenting a difficulty, challenge or obstacle.

I want, and I am sure the House needs, to ensure cultural buy-in to the concept of open disclosure. I might add that, in its pre-legislative scrutiny report on the open disclosure provisions, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health stated it was sympathetic to claims on the part of stakeholders that cultural buy-in to open disclosure is necessary to ensure its success.

The purpose of the open disclosure provisions in the Bill is to create a framework in which this can be brought about. The Bill is clear on the detailed information to be given to the patient. It is equally clear that the legal protections will only apply when the disclosure is made in accordance with the legislation.

It is important that the input of my colleague, the Minister for Health, in this Bill be recognised, particularly in the context of the Report Stage amendments that we have been dealing with this evening, all of which refer to the health service providers' liability in the area of health and patient care. In this regard, the Minister for Health believes that the Bill will bring benefits to patients, with the supports for open disclosure in the Bill helping to ensure that patients will get the information they want in a timely manner following an incident. It is important to say that patients will, of course, have access to their medical records and that this legislation does not impact in any way on the use of these records by the patient.

Having regard to the fact that what we need is to ensure that we have a climate for cultural buy-in and that the Bill works well to the benefit of the person in receipt of the service, I am not in a position to accept the Deputies' amendments.

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