Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

This Bill is about making sure that digital health records are used safely and effectively to improve healthcare in Ireland. I will begin by referring to data protection. I wrote to the Minister two years ago about the very subject matter of the Bill, namely health records. Sometimes in a hospital a doctor will send on a patient's records and the next thing that happens is correspondence will arrive which states that not all of the records have been received. If a patient is allergic to penicillin or whatever, all the records in that regard should be available. What should also be there is a record of every doctor who sees a patient. This is helpful. Not only would doctors have patients' records, they would also have a record of the doctors who have seen a patient and their diagnoses. This would also lead to accountability among people within the medical profession because there would be a clear record of events. There would be a clear record of when things go right and also a clear record of when they go wrong.

I am always talking about UHL. I am not having a go at the Minister of State in this regard. I have worked well with her, but it is frustrating that after four or five years of my being here, something is only now finally happening. What is proposed in the Bill will help, in a way, in hospitals in terms of accountability across the board. It would also provide protections to doctors who do things properly.

I was in the audiovisual room earlier for the presentation on spina bifida, scoliosis and kyphosis. My son had kyphosis. At 16 years of age, he had an operation and was one of the ones who got the faulty rods. Two years later, the rods snapped and he had to go back into hospital to have them redone. Thankfully, he is healthy, but it happened when he was going into first year in college. Thankfully, we have moved on. He is now on the up and up. That is a case of something happening, being fixed and of moving on to see how we can ensure that it does not happen to someone else. I know an awful lot of people who were not so lucky. It took three months to get one girl ready for her operation. She was on a trolley waiting for the operation when it was cancelled. She was told that the hospital did not have a bed for recovery. She waited another three months and was operated on. Things did not to plan, however, because she was also one of the people who received faulty rods. She now has to go to the UK for treatment.

Again, this all comes back to having a database. However, people have to agree to it. They have to say they are happy to have their data and medical records put on the database. Moreover, there needs to be buy-in on the medical side to the effect that those involved are happy to provide all the information relating to people's medical records. This would set out a roadmap for providing a healthcare system whereby people can know all the facts. Everything that happens throughout a person's life should be managed. No matter who sees you, every healthcare professional should know how they can help.

This is a good Bill. I would like to see something like what is proposed as long as people sign up to it and want it. There should be an opt-in and an opt-out.

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