Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly has today announced the commencement of the Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023.
The Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023 provides a legislative framework for a number of important patient safety issues, including the mandatory open disclosure of a list of specified serious patient safety incidents that must be disclosed to the patient and/or their family. The Act also provides for the mandatory external notification of those same events to the appropriate body. The Act contains a list of specified patient safety incidents resulting in the main, in death or serious injury, and also provides for the mandatory external notification of those same events to the appropriate body. The Act contains a provision by which the Minister can add to this list via regulation.
Minister Donnelly said:
“I am delighted to be commencing this important piece of patient safety legislation. It will serve an important role in progressing a cultural change in our health service whereby, together, we create space for openness and transparency in our everyday actions. Ireland has made another great stride forward in our suite of patient safety legislation and this will signal a new era for the health service.”
The Act also provides for mandatory open disclosure requirements for completed individual patient requested reviews of their cancer screening by the Health Service Executive’s (HSE’s) National Screening Service in a dedicated part of the Act. It provides for an obligation for the Cancer Screening Services to inform patients of their right to request a review.
Under the Act, the remit of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) will be expanded into prescribed private health services and private hospitals. This will allow HIQA to set standards for the operation of prescribed private health services and private hospitals, to monitor compliance with them and to undertake inspections and investigations as required.
Prior to commencement of the Act, there were a number of preparatory steps required. These are now complete, and the majority of the Act is being commenced. Section 68, which provides that a new Section be inserted into the Health Act 2007 to provide the Chief Inspector with a discretionary power to carry out a review of a defined type of serious patient safety incident where some or all of the care of a patient was carried out in a nursing home, to include both public and private nursing homes, requires a minor technical amendment and will be commenced shortly.
The Act contains a provision mandating a review of the operation of the Act to be carried out two years from the date of commencement.
Minister Donnelly added:
“This is a landmark piece of patient safety legislation. It will play an important role in ensuring that patients and their families have access to comprehensive and timely information. This is achieved by the open disclosure mechanism in the Act which contributes to embedding a culture whereby clinicians, and the health service as a whole, engage openly, transparently and compassionately with patients and their families when things go wrong.
“Poor communication between patients and health practitioners has been at the heart of many patient safety issues. It is so important that when things go wrong, there is an understanding of what has happened and an assurance that it will not happen again.”
