Hospitals watchdog has ‘flurry of concerns’
The chief executive of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), Dr Tracey Cooper, said the authority was “keeping a monitoring eye” on the quality and safety of services provided by the hospital groups in the two regions.
The major acute hospitals being monitored include the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, Co Louth, as well the linked regional hospitals — Dundalk, Navan, St John’s (Limerick), Nenagh and Ennis.
Dr Cooper told the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children yesterday that every month or so the authority had a large team inspect the hospitals.
She said HIQA was working closely with the recently established Special Delivery Unit to try and improve systems and safety of patients.
“It has been going on for a number of months. We’ve had a flurry of concerns, including concerns relating to emergency departments.”
Instead of shutting down services and holding an investigation, HIQA told management to provide the authority with quality improvement plans.
Dr Cooper said the authority would order a full investigation if it had serious safety concerns or was not receiving full co-operation from the hospital.
Dr Cooper said the imminent report on the emergency department at Tallaght Hospital in Dublin would have “significant and substantial” importance for the whole health system.
She said the report would be published around the end of February or early March. “We will also be making national recommendations that will have a particular impact on how we run hospitals in the country,” she said.
The investigation looked at issues such as governance, the board arrangements and provisions of acute care across the hospital.
Dr Cooper said HIQA had not recommended the closure of any hospital.
She said HIQA recognised the economic and fiscal challenges facing the health system at the moment and what their reasonable expectation of providers should be as a result.
She stressed HIQA was independent. “I cannot see us doing our job any other way. A lot of what we have to say is difficult for people; the messages are very hard but it is about safety.”
“What we are not about is catching people out,” said Dr Cooper, who dismissed any notion that HIQA had a “cosy cartel” with the Health Service Executive.
