PATIENT SAFETY

The Clarke Report into the death of Aoife Johnston makes 17 recommendations aimed at improving Patient Safety.

The Chief Executive of the HSE has said that accountability is and will be pursued fairly and appropriately in a confidential process and that the HSE failed Aoife and their failure has resulted in the most catastrophic consequences for her and her family.  

He said the independent investigation carried out by the former Chief Justice Frank Clarke was comprehensive and given the HSE a pathway to both learning and accountability.  

He said that the learnings from the report and the recommendations are all being actively considered in many aspects of improvement that are underway and indeed have relevance to assisting the overall patient safety agenda in all our settings.

In a statement, INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said “the INMO has been sounding the alarm on issues of Patient Safety duty to unsafe staffing levels in UHL at local, regional and governmental levels as far back as 2016”.

The Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said “implementation of Mr. Clarke’s recommendations as well as the actions and changes recommended by the HSE expert clinical review also published today are important for the patients of the Mid-West as well as the staff in UHL, to rebuild confidence in the safety and quality of the care and services provided there”.

The report of former Chief Justice Mr. Frank Clarke S.C. was commissioned by the CEO of the HSE Bernard Gloster after he received the report of a systems analysis review (an SAR Report) prepared under the HSE’s National Incident Management System.  

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/services/advice-on-patient-safety-notifiable-incidents-and-open-disclosure-act-2023/