Harney ‘must implement all of report’s 15 recommendations’
Ms O’Sullivan said the onus was on the minister to ensure that the 15 recommendations in the Health Information and Quality Authority report were implemented in full.
“As Minister for Health and as minister for overseeing the HSE, she must be held accountable for their response to this report,” the Labour Party spokesperson stressed.
“Failure on her part to take responsibility for this will only mean that the confidence of womenin the cancer diagnostic and treatment services will be further damaged,” she said.
In welcoming the report, Ms Harney repeated her earlier apology to breast cancer patient Rebecca O’Malley and praised her courage in pursuing her case with the health services during such a difficult time in her life.
The minister also apologised to the second patient, known as Ms X, who underwent a sub-optimal diagnosis at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick and was later found to have breast cancer.
She wished both women well on their path torecovery.
Ms Harney said she was determined that the HIQA report and independent review of breast care services at Barrington’s private hospital in Limerick would lead to permanent, improved standards in patient safety and patient care in all health care settings.
She pointed out that the HSE was already working to address weaknesses of governance, management and communications identified in HIQA’s report.
Ms Harney said her department would work with the HSE and other agencies to implement the 15 recommendations.
“Our common focus is on delivering apatient-centred service in all aspects, where the needs of each individual patient are paramount,” she said.
Fine Gael’s health spokesperson Dr James O’Reilly said that if the minister was serious about patient safety she must address the flaws in the HSE where no one was responsible, no one was accountable and patients were not being put first.
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