Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome Mayor Farrell to the Chamber. I had the opportunity to visit San Francisco last year and met his predecessor, Mayor Lee, who very kindly presented me with the keys to the city of San Francisco. As the House knows, there is a very special relationship between San Francisco and the city of Cork in particular, and I was really very sorry to hear of Mayor Lee's untimely death. The delegation has our condolences in that regard. We are really glad to welcome those in the delegation here.

There have been delays in providing information to the Dr. Scally inquiry, which was established by the Government, which he mentioned in his report published today. In some cases there have been delays in providing patient information to solicitors of patients who have requested it. I assure the Deputy that it is Government policy that there should be no undue delay in providing medical records and information to women and patients affected by any of these issues. The Government has given that policy direction to the public bodies concerned and will be reiterated. However, it is not as straightforward as going to the medical records department of a hospital and requesting a patient chart. Medical records are about much more than that. They can be in several different places, not only in paper and electronic format, and include the patient's charts and electronic records as well as X-rays, slides and other scans that may be in laboratories or radiology departments elsewhere. It should also be borne in mind that it in many cases it is reasonable to first go through the medical records to ensure they do not contain information about others which is privileged or belongs to somebody else or that cannot be released for another reason. Nevertheless, the Government's policy is that there should be no unreasonable or undue delay in providing records to patients when they request them or when their solicitors request them, and that also applies to Dr. Scally's inquiry. That policy direction has been made and will be reissued.

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