'Rushed' laws on mandatory open disclosure in healthcare pushed out to new year

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the introduction of duty of candor in teh Bill had been one of the late Vicky Phelan's "core demands". Many in the Dáil believed the Bill was not yet fit for purpose. Picture: David Young/PA

New laws to introduce mandatory open disclosure in the healthcare system will now be pushed out until the New Year, after the Health Minister agreed to make changes to the legislation.

Sinn Féin had purposely slowed down the much-criticised Bill aimed at introducing mandatory open disclosure by filibustering during a four-hour Dáil debate.

Mary Lou McDonald's party tactically prolonged the debate, hitting out at the Government for not providing enough time to go through the amendments tabled by Minister Stephen Donnelly.

However, after listening to many contributions from Sinn Féin and others, Mr Donnelly suggested that he would be willing to make further amendments to tackle some of the issues raised by the opposition.

In the wake of Vicky Phelan's death, the Taoiseach had promised that the new laws would pass before Christmas, but the Minister cautioned that even with "best will in the world" making more changes would push the Bill out to January.

Mr Donnelly said the Patient Safety Bill would "embed a culture of open disclosure in our health and our social services".

He said the legislation would be viewed as an important part of the legacy of reform and transformation which campaigners, including Vicky Phelan, fought for in the wake of the CervicalCheck scandal.

Labour TD Alan Kelly said he wanted to support the legislation, but it had been "so rushed", adding that campaigners Lorraine Walsh and Stephen Teap do not believe it is fit for purpose.

"I am passionate about this Bill for reasons you are well aware, but this is not open disclosure" said Mr Kelly, who went on to question the legalities of parts of the Bill.

This doesn't pass the Vicky test, that is so so important to me.

Stall tactics

The debate was doubled in length to four hours after members of the opposition hit out of the Government for trying to guillotine the legislation, which had been originally scheduled in for two hours of discussion.

However, Sinn Féin TDs lined up to speak on the amendments tabled in a bid to halt its progress through the Oireachtas.

Matt Carthy said his party supported the Bill in "principal". He said the difficulty is not with what is in the Bill, but what is "glaringly missing, particularly the absence of statutory duty of candor."

He then read out paragraphs from Ms Phelan's memoir in which she called for full open disclosure.

Earlier in the day, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the introduction of duty of candor had been one of Ms Phelan's "core demands".

She said there had been consensus across the Oireachtas that the original Patient Safety Bill did not allow for this, before reminding the Taoiseach the week that Ms Phelan died he had promised amendments would be brought forward to address flaws in the proposed legislation.

We have a problem in that the amendment proposed by the Minister Deputy Donnelly does not provide for mandatory disclosure. There is provision for a right to review and this is welcome. 

"However, there is a distinction between a right to review and a positive obligation on a clinician or a health service provider to reveal and pass on information. Mandatory disclosure, where the legal responsibility is on clinicians and organisations, is what the women fought for," Ms McDonald said.