Calls for Health Minister to publish report on rising costs of clinical negligence claims
Maternity reform advocates hope report will recommend how to help reduce the number of hospital mother and baby deaths and injuries every year.
Maternity services reform advocates have called on Health Minister Stephen Donnelly to publish a report into how the State plans to slash its annual €3.8bn-plus clinical negligence bill.
It is hoped that as well as outlining how claims costs could be cut, it will recommend how to help reduce the number of hospital mother and baby deaths and injuries every year.
Maternity unit baby injury claims as well as the cost of “slips and falls” in hospitals are expected to pass the €4bn mark in June, when figures on the State’s estimated outstanding liability for accidents in Irish hospitals are due to be published.
The State’s estimated outstanding clinical liability figure currently stands at €3.8bn for 2022.
Liabilities for cases classed as “catastrophic”, which include avoidable hospital baby deaths and injuries, have shot up from 10% in 2020, and 14% in 2021 to 16% in 2022.
The level of estimated outstanding liabilities for less serious clinical claims has gone from €621m in 2018 to €1bn in 2022.
In response, an interdepartmental working group was established in January 2023 to examine the rising cost of clinical negligence claims and to save millions from the annual bill.
Chaired by Dr Rhona Mahony, membership was made up of various relevant Government departments and agencies.
Researchers at University College Cork were also involved in interviewing patients or their families affected by adverse events and who had also taken legal action against the HSE.
The report has since been completed but the Department of Health has not given either a publication date, or any indication if it will ever even be made public.
A spokesperson told the : “The group’s final report was recently submitted by the chair to the Minister for Health for his consideration.”
Safer Births Ireland, which campaigns on behalf of mothers whose babies died in the care of HSE maternity services, said: "It is unacceptable that the interdepartmental working group has failed to produce a report on the rising cost of health-related claims to date, despite being established over 17 months ago.
Dr Krysia Lynch, chair of Aims Ireland (Association for Improvements in Maternity Care) said the report needed to be published, "especially as it could impact significantly on the patient experience".
“It could also have a significantly positive impact on the working environment of the clinicians involved in maternity services.”
The group’s remit included a particular focus on looking into why the cost of high-value claims are continuing to rise and to try to identify measures that could be put in place to reduce pay-outs.
It was also set up to develop a plan to “implement risk management and other initiatives to reduce the occurrence of adverse incidents”.
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