Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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68. To ask the Minister for Health the progress being made to date on a review of international advocacy models and advocacy services, with a view to developing a national advocacy service for patients; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13708/16]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Work on a new independent national model for patient advocacy as recommended by the HIQA Report into Portlaoise Report has commenced. This advocacy service will be external to the Department and the HSE and will be in line with international best practice. The Department has begun the examination of the most appropriate patient advocacy model for Ireland having requested the Health Research Board Evidence Centre to undertake a brief research review of international best practice models. The HRB has now presented my Department with its findings relating to models of advocacy and my officials are currently reviewing this Report. A scoping exercise of the current national models will also be commissioned by my Department.

Following this exercise officials of my Department will then define and oversee the implementation of the national advocacy model for Ireland.