Patients’ group: Medical negligence bill could hit €1bn a year

The State would face a €1bn medical negligence bill every 12 months if the number of people to die unnecessarily or who are further injured because of delays due to overcrowding at emergency departments sued.

The claim was made by a patients’ group during the latest meeting of the Government-backed emergency department task force on Monday night.

Speaking at the meeting, which was attended by Leo Varadkar, the health minister, Irish Patients’ Association chairman Stephen McMahon said it is his belief that the current problems in the system have been caused by repeated failures to address the issues over the past decade.

He said as far back as 2003, there was clear evidence overcrowding in the key hospital sector was spiralling out of control.

However, despite a series of high-profile deaths and excessive waiting times for people in genuine need, Mr McMahon said few, if any ministers, have properly tackled the issue.

In a bid to underline the seriousness of the situation, he said if the families of those who died or were needlessly injured due to emergency department overcrowding delays took legal cases, the State could be liable for a €1bn annual pay-out.

“As far back as 2003 and 2006 the system knew that where emergency department overcrowding persists, not only is quality of care compromised and outcomes poorer, but patient mortality is increased.

“Therefore, overcrowding is not just an issue of workflow but one of patient safety. What is shocking and un-acceptable is that one recent report put the death rate arising from this overcrowding at 4,000 patients per year, although we have no estimate of the number and degree of injuries.

“If we move from the obvious human tragedy and emotional impact on the families involved and friends of such victims of these preventable deaths and injury to simple financial costs, should the State be sued the bill could be in excess of €1bn per year,” he said.

Mr McMahon based his figure on a recent report which suggested as many as 4,000 deaths in hospitals every year may be the result of overcrowding problems and treatment delays in emergency departments.

He said if the families of these people and others who were in his view needlessly injured by the excessive waiting times took cases against the State, they could successfully sue for a combined €1bn every 12 months.

“Christine Lagarde, chief executive of the IMF, in the company of Taoiseach Enda Kenny, recently lauded the Irish people as heroes, and they are.

“But my personal opinion is the weakest, the voiceless, the elderly, and those that need timely access to healthcare have been the collateral damage arising from our era of austerity,” Mr McMahon added.

The patient campaigner said the only way to adequately protect patients dependent on an overstretched health service and overworked staff doing their best is to provide full access to patient records, make management accountable for the system they oversee and write annual reports on emergency department patient safety.

The comment came just one month after the HSE’s deputy national director of acute hospitals, Angela Fitzgerald, failed to answer eight times on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland whether hospitals are still safe for patients.