Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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1733. To ask the Minister for Health the progress that is being made to enact the patient safety (notifiable patient safety incidents) Bill 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20781/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Patient Safety (Notifiable Patient Safety Incidents) Bill 2019 provides the legislative framework for a number of important patient safety issues, including the mandatory open disclosure of a list of notifiable patient safety incidents and the notification of same externally to the Health Information and Quality Authority, Chief Inspector of Social Services and the Mental Health Commission, as appropriate, to contribute to national learning and system-wide improvements. This mandatory requirement for open disclosure will ensure that patients and their families receive appropriate timely information in relation to an incident that may have occurred in relation to their care. 

The Patient Safety (Notifiable Patient Safety Incidents) Bill 2019 will also bring private hospitals within the remit of the Health Act 2007. The relevant provisions extend the remit of the Health Information and Quality Authority, allowing it to set standards for the operation of private hospitals, to monitor compliance with them and to undertake inspections and investigations as required. The Bill also contains provisions to support clinical audit within the health service.

The Bill was introduced into Dáil Éireann on the 12 December 2019 and passed Second Stage in the Dáil at that time. The Bill is a Programme for Government commitment and recently passed Dáil Committee Stage on 10th March 2022 and will be progressed to Dáil Report Stage and through all Stages in the  Seanad.

The Patient Safety (Notifiable Patient Safety Incidents) Bill 2019 is part of the broader programme of legislative and policy initiatives to improve the ability of the health service to anticipate, identify, and respond to patient safety issues, and to improve the quality and safety of health services for patients. Creating a culture of open disclosure and learning from the things that go wrong is the bedrock of making services safer.