Soaring health claims: Better ways to spend money

EVEN in a country that has endured more than enough reports on damming failure and wilful neglect in our care and health systems last week’s Hiqa relevations about deaths among newborn babies in Portlaoise were particularly distressing and infuriating.

No-one expects an infallible health service — after all to err is human — but the documented failure — or reluctance — to learn from mistakes, to re-engineer service provision and patient protection, highlighted last week, shows and unacceptable indifference, very poor management and leadership.

Is it possible that very same culture is at the root of the warning given to health service bosses by Health Minister Leo Varadkar that they must get to grips with the record multi-million and growing High Court compensation cases faced by the HSE?