Bill to expand Hiqa's authority to wait until after General Election
Phil Ní Sheaghdha, general secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), said the Patient Safety (Licensing) Bill would change how the regulator interacts with hospitals. Photo: Gareth Chaney
A bill expanding Hiqa’s authority over private and public hospitals will not be passed before the election as it remains with the Attorney General for drafting, having been there since 2018.
Hospitals, public and private, could face losing their license in the same way as nursing homes do now under Hiqa (Health Information and Quality Authority) regulations.
The long-promised Patient Safety (Licensing) Bill has been called for by health workers and advocates to help reform issues such as overcrowding.
It was referred to the Attorney General for drafting in 2018. It “currently remains with that office”, a Department of Health spokesman said.
“The Department of Health continues to work on the Patient Safety (Licensing) Bill which will, for the first time, introduce a licensing requirement for all hospitals, public and private, and certain designated high-risk activities in the community,” he said.
Scroll for results in your area
Phil Ní Sheaghdha, general secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), said this would change how the regulator interacts with hospitals. She highlighted critical Hiqa reports on overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick, Tallaght and Portlaoise hospitals.
Although inspectors identified problems, she said all they can do is “monitor public acute hospitals against nationally mandated standards and encourage improvement”.
Writing in union magazine WIN she highlighted concerns about overcrowding and staff shortages identified in a separate report on Aoife Johnston’s death at UHL.
“A better measure to express regret and apology would be to introduce Patient Safety (Licensing) legislation. This should be the priority for all those championing real patient safety,” she urged.
Meanwhile, Hiqa published an inspection report on Aperee Living Conna nursing home on Tuesday. This was carried out in May, before the home along with other homes in this group were put up for sale in October.
It was found not compliant in areas including fire safety and food issues such as not providing hot food for evening meals.
An improvement plan submitted to Hiqa details changes including hiring a chef to fill a vacancy. Fire escape routes are being upgraded and a plan put in place to monitor cigarette-stub bins among other fire safety issues.
Hiqa was also worried the chief inspector was not getting timely notice of changes in directors. One director that Hiqa met on February 15 had resigned in January but it was not informed.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
