Results 2,621-2,640 of 11,255 for speaker:Colm Burke

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Medical Council Specialist Register: Discussion (2 May 2018)

Colm Burke: It is not a fair comparison.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Medical Council Specialist Register: Discussion (2 May 2018)

Colm Burke: It is an unfair comparison if we take it from a global point of view rather than comparing it to consultants who are on the specialist register in the smaller hospitals.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Medical Council Specialist Register: Discussion (2 May 2018)

Colm Burke: The figures Dr. Gilligan gave indicating we have the lowest ratio of doctors and consultants in the OECD and, on the other side, Professor Murray's point that people's life expectancy has improved, show the dedication and commitment of the medical profession in Ireland in being able to deliver the service despite all the pressures. We need to face up to the challenge and make sure we can...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Cervical Screening Programme: Department of Health, HSE, CervicalCheck and the National Cancer Control Programme (2 May 2018)

Colm Burke: Thank you very much to all of the witnesses for coming in here today. Can I go straight into the issue of open disclosure and the failure to provide that open disclosure? When the information became available that there were inconsistencies in the results, at what stage was there a decision taken not to share that information? Was legal advice sought by either the HSE or CervicalCheck,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Cervical Screening Programme: Department of Health, HSE, CervicalCheck and the National Cancer Control Programme (2 May 2018)

Colm Burke: In fairness, is two and a half years not a long period of time in which essential information was not being provided for patients?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Cervical Screening Programme: Department of Health, HSE, CervicalCheck and the National Cancer Control Programme (2 May 2018)

Colm Burke: In the particular case there was a detailed exchange of correspondence between Mr. Hickey in Limerick and the head of CervicalCheck which, as I understand it, went on for over a period of 18 months. Surely to God, someone can come to a decision one way or the other, rather than having dragged on correspondence.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Cervical Screening Programme: Department of Health, HSE, CervicalCheck and the National Cancer Control Programme (2 May 2018)

Colm Burke: When the legal letter came in, surely it must have set off alarm bells at that stage. The question is to whom did the legal letter come? Was it to CervicalCheck or the HSE? Everyone is hiding behind the State Claims Agency, but am I correct in stating it initially came to the HSE or CervicalCheck?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Cervical Screening Programme: Department of Health, HSE, CervicalCheck and the National Cancer Control Programme (2 May 2018)

Colm Burke: I want to find out when the letter came in and who received it. Surely it must have set alarm bells ringing about the need for disclosure to everyone else also?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Cervical Screening Programme: Department of Health, HSE, CervicalCheck and the National Cancer Control Programme (2 May 2018)

Colm Burke: In January of what year?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Cervical Screening Programme: Department of Health, HSE, CervicalCheck and the National Cancer Control Programme (2 May 2018)

Colm Burke: Did it not set off alarm bells because we are now going through a legal process on the need to look at the process in place for disclosure. The person obviously had concerns that a disclosure had not been made. Surely when a letter like that comes in - it is like any organisation getting a legal letter - the immediate response is if that is what is happening in the particular case, maybe we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Cervical Screening Programme: Department of Health, HSE, CervicalCheck and the National Cancer Control Programme (2 May 2018)

Colm Burke: Surely where errors had been identified and there was a need to disclose information the letter received in January should have set off a process to make sure something was put in place at that stage, rather than having to deal with it now in the public domain.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Cervical Screening Programme: Department of Health, HSE, CervicalCheck and the National Cancer Control Programme (2 May 2018)

Colm Burke: I will follow up on the point Deputy Donnelly raised with Dr. Henry regarding the decision-making process and how it seemed to go around in circles. I am sorry for coming back on this. Did it not occur to Dr. Henry that, in the context of the delay in making the decision about getting the information out, someone should have sought legal advice about whether we could run into difficulties...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Cervical Screening Programme: Department of Health, HSE, CervicalCheck and the National Cancer Control Programme (2 May 2018)

Colm Burke: Did Dr. Henry not set a timeline with them for when a decision had to be made?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Cervical Screening Programme: Department of Health, HSE, CervicalCheck and the National Cancer Control Programme (2 May 2018)

Colm Burke: Did Dr. Henry suggest it?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Cervical Screening Programme: Department of Health, HSE, CervicalCheck and the National Cancer Control Programme (2 May 2018)

Colm Burke: Dr. Henry must have become concerned when the issue was still dragging on quite a number of months after he first discussed it? He must have raised concerns. Did he raise those concerns in writing?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Cervical Screening Programme: Department of Health, HSE, CervicalCheck and the National Cancer Control Programme (2 May 2018)

Colm Burke: Dr. Henry came to a conclusion that they had come to a resolution of the problem.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Cervical Screening Programme: Department of Health, HSE, CervicalCheck and the National Cancer Control Programme (2 May 2018)

Colm Burke: Was Dr. Henry then surprised to find that this did not happen?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Cervical Screening Programme: Department of Health, HSE, CervicalCheck and the National Cancer Control Programme (2 May 2018)

Colm Burke: Was it confirmed to him in writing whether it was going to happen?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Cervical Screening Programme: Department of Health, HSE, CervicalCheck and the National Cancer Control Programme (2 May 2018)

Colm Burke: In the context of saying that there would be communication, there was no decision. Dr. Henry was not advised of the decision to inform the patients or not.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Cervical Screening Programme: Department of Health, HSE, CervicalCheck and the National Cancer Control Programme (2 May 2018)

Colm Burke: So Dr. Henry was never told at any stage, either in writing or verbally, that communication was occurring and all people were being communicated with.