Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will now focus on the third grouping of amendments. This grouping describes what an open disclosure is for the purposes of the Bill, what its legal effect is and the statement that is to be prepared by health services providers regarding open disclosure.

Amendment No. 5 inserts section 9 into the Bill, which provides that a disclosure of a patient safety incident made in accordance with the legislation will be considered an open disclosure.

Amendment No. 6 inserts section 10 into the Bill, which provides for certain protections for open disclosure, which will only be given when all the requirements in the legislation are met. The protections are as follows: information provided, and an apology where it is made, in an open disclosure meeting will not constitute an express or implied admission of fault or liability in a clinical negligence action regarding that patient safety incident; information provided, and an apology where it is made, in an open disclosure meeting are not admissible as evidence of fault or liability in a clinical negligence action regarding that patient safety incident; and information provided, and an apology where it is made, in an open disclosure meeting are not admissible as evidence of fault in professional fitness to practise proceedings. Section 10 also provides that insurance or indemnity is not affected by an apology made as part of an open disclosure.

Amendment No. 7 inserts section 11 into the Bill, which provides that a health services provider will prepare a written statement outlining the procedure for making an open disclosure and the restrictions on the use that the patient may make of any information provided and any apology made. I would stress at this point that the patient's medical record will still be fully accessible for use by patients and nothing in Part 4 affects that.