MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE PATIENT SAFETY 1.5A(i)   

UNDEFINED NOTIFIABLE INCIDENT

1.5A

Dr. Gabriel Scally has said that the Patient Safety Bill (now the Patient Safety Act 2023) is really quite narrow in scope and there remains the need to provide Patients with the right to make a complaint  about their clinical treatment.   Dr. Scally also told RTE that while the Minister could add other incidents where open disclosure should apply, at present the rights to open disclosure only arose in 2023 Patient Safety Act when the Patient died.  

In the example given at news item Medical Negligence Patient Safety 1.5A on the 7^th May 2025, this was an example of a Notifiable Incident involving elective surgery which involved negligence due to a surgical operation or anaesthesia (including recovery from the effects of anaesthesia) but which did not involve a death.  

If as a result of this surgery the Patient had died then that would be a notifiable incident under the Act 2023.

There appears to be no good reason as to why this incident should not be a Notifiable Incident and the Minister has an opportunity under Section 8 to introduce regulations to cover such an incident and there does not appear to be any proposal to do so at present.

For more detailed insights into how the Patient Safety Act 2023 impacts you and how Whelan Law can support you, please visit our Patient Safety Rights Legal Advice https://www.whelanlaw.ie/news/medical-negligence-and-patient-safety/