Scale of problems wouldn’t have come to light without perseverance of parents
The scale of the problems at Portlaoise Hospital’s maternity unit would never have come to light without the perseverance of Roisin and Mark Molloy in seeking answers about the circumstances of their baby son Mark’s death at the hospital.
“The Molloys have been forced to put their family life on hold for the last two years in order to get justice for little Mark and the other babies who died under questionable circumstances at Portlaoise Hospital,” stated Denis Naughten.
“This should not have had to happen and again highlights the urgent need to introduce a law on medical disclosure forcing health professionals to inform patients when a mistake has been made.”
He added: “A new law, which I’m planning to publish next month, would end the culture of leaving the disclosure of truth in the case of a medical mistake to the lawyers. It would also identify, rather than cover up, problems at an earlier stage thereby protecting future patients.
“The stress, pain and suffering in the Portlaoise baby cases has been significantly compounded by not only the lack of engagement but also the continual battle to get basic information, while trying to cope with the physical and mental fallout from the deaths of their babies.”
Outlining the legislation which he is currently drafting, Denis Naughten explained: “It provides for a legal responsibility on a medical professional or their employer to make a disclosure to the patient as soon as is practicable after any unintended event that occurs when a patient receives treatment from a health practitioner or a health services provider and which results in death, serious disability, injury or harm to the patient. This is where it does not result primarily from the patient’s underlying medical condition or from a known risk inherent in providing the treatment.
“Such a disclosure must include: the material facts of what occurred with respect to the critical incident; the consequences for the patient of the critical incident, as they become known; and the actions taken and recommended to be taken to address the consequences to the patient of the critical incident, including any health care or treatment that is advisable.
“The new legislation will also ensure that a follow-up report will be provided to the patient outlining the steps that will be taken to avoid or reduce the risk of further similar critical incidents being repeated.
“I hope that Government can accept the principle of what I’m proposing and either adopt my legislation or fast track its own legislation in this area to ensure that we can prevent practices such as those exposed in Portlaoise,” concluded Denis Naughten.