Results 6,501-6,520 of 21,427 for speaker:Alan Kelly

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Business of Joint Committee (Resumed) (9 Oct 2019)

Alan Kelly: I agree.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Business of Joint Committee (Resumed) (9 Oct 2019)

Alan Kelly: I do not believe that is sufficient. I also have concerns about other issues which I will not yet speak about here. There is a direct contradiction in the evidence and documentation that Ms Claire Healy has given us. In fairness to Ms Healy, she sent us documentation from people in the HSE, which verifies what happened and others in the HSE have also noted the contradiction. The issue is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Business of Joint Committee (Resumed) (9 Oct 2019)

Alan Kelly: We should ask that she sends the letter to the committee by next week, because I do not want this to drag on. We can make a decision on it next week.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Business of Joint Committee (Resumed) (9 Oct 2019)

Alan Kelly: We need a response before the next committee meeting. If we do not hear from her by then we should call her in.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Business of Joint Committee (Resumed) (9 Oct 2019)

Alan Kelly: I want to raise two issues. The first is the profile of the 221 patient group laboratory audit results. I pressed the HSE for this report and it was subsequently sent to patient representatives, to the 221+ patient support group, and to this committee. It breaks down the figures by laboratory and shows where the 221 breakdown is. In May 2018, the then director general of the HSE, Tony...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Business of Joint Committee (Resumed) (9 Oct 2019)

Alan Kelly: It was a matter of weeks. He stated that it would take two weeks or a similarly short period. I need to check the record in that regard. The big issue is that we still do not know the dates in question. If the HSE is incapable of giving a full matrix of the breakdown of these slides, it must be dysfunctional. This work should barely take a couple of hours, never mind a couple of years....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Business of Joint Committee (Resumed) (9 Oct 2019)

Alan Kelly: Patient representatives have been in contact with me in the past few minutes. They have asked for this information numerous times. We should write to CervicalCheck in the strongest terms possible. Damien McCallion is its administrator. We should also write to the Minister and tell him that we want the information by this day next week. There is no reason it could not be provided. Tony...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Business of Joint Committee (Resumed) (9 Oct 2019)

Alan Kelly: There is something going on. This information has been hidden for a reason.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Business of Joint Committee (Resumed) (9 Oct 2019)

Alan Kelly: I ask that we seek a reply within one week, please.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Business of Joint Committee (Resumed) (9 Oct 2019)

Alan Kelly: No. That is only the précis. The big issue relates to the Irish National Accreditation Board, INAB. I have gone through all of the documentation provided. I do not know whether any other member has done so. I spent last night going through it. I have raised issues regarding INAB at the committee many times. Its representatives appeared before us. I refer to the issues regarding...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Business of Joint Committee (Resumed) (9 Oct 2019)

Alan Kelly: I am not convinced that the terms of reference were covered. I have a number of questions. I received all of this documentation yesterday, which was budget day, so I will return with a range of questions about this for the consideration of the committee. The real issue is the fact that the issues that were to have been covered in this report, which was to have been published in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Business of Joint Committee (Resumed) (9 Oct 2019)

Alan Kelly: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Alan Kelly: I am disappointed that the Chairman did not allow Deputy O'Reilly to ask her question, although I respect his ruling, even if it does not look good coming from a doctor.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Alan Kelly: I understand that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Alan Kelly: Yes. One of the issues I will raise is exhaustion among consultants and working hours that are not acceptable. Errors happen because of this. I must be honest in saying that. Consultants are human beings. They have worries and concerns about malpractice as a result of it. That is a real issue. I think the issues are related, and while I do not agree with it, I accept the Chairman's...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Alan Kelly: I did not say that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Alan Kelly: I often refer to the Chairman as Dr. Harty. In fact, I never refer to him as Deputy. That does not insinuate anything. I will not question the witnesses on this, but I will make a statement to which I do not want any response. I know of other cases apart from the one covered in the documentary.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Alan Kelly: I will deal with it this way. I know many people in the medical profession. There is a concern among doctors that their workload and the number of hours they work result in malpractice, accidental or otherwise. Is that a fair assumption?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Alan Kelly: That is a fair point. I was not as conscious of the second point, which relates to bullying, but as Dr. Doyle has repeated it I am aware that it as a concern. On that basis, is it fair to say that the Medical Council will have to deal with issues that are referred to it due workload and exhaustion?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Alan Kelly: No, what I am asking is whether Dr. Doyle believes the number of issues the Medical Council has to deal with is increasing as a result of the way in which consultants are treated in the workforce. If she does not believe that, then it does not correlate.