INEXPERIENCED staff are carrying out nursing home checks and signing off on inspections, according to an unpublished HSE report.

TOUGH new plans to put patients at the heart of the Health Service and restore public confidence were revealed yesterday by the opposition.

A €30 MILLION patients watchdog has been jointly proposed by Fine Gael and Labour.

Fine Gael and the Labour Party are calling on the Government to set up a watchdog to ensure patient safety in the healthcare system.

OPPOSITION parties are to demand a new patient safety watchdog following a series of damning reports on the health services.

Opposition parties are to demand a new patient safety watchdog following a series of damning reports into Ireland’s health services, it was revealed today.

An independent watchdog should be set up to protect nursing home patients against abuses, the Dáil heard today.

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern yesterday accepted that hospitals should be regulated by a licensing authority as the political debate over the findings of the Lourdes Hospital inquiry continues.

The Government will agree on a compensation scheme for victims of disgraced obstetrician Michael Neary within a fortnight, it emerged this afternoon.

The Government will seriously consider compensation for the victims of Dr Michael Neary, but the taxpayer shouldn’t be expected to pick up the bill every time, the Taoiseach told the Dáil today.

The legal profession have called for the establishment of a Patient Safety Authority.