Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 May 2026
1223. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether she is satisfied that current arrangements meet the State’s obligations in respect of clinical governance, patient safety, and safeguarding, given the absence of national data systems and audit mechanisms. [33202/26]
View answerOver recent years the health service has placed an important emphasis on quality and patient safety by developing an infrastructure for integrated quality, safety and risk management with the aim of achieving excellence in clinical governance. The Chief Clinical Officer and his team oversee the whole system of clinical governance within the HSE, ensuring safe ways of working and setting quality and patient safety guidelines.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) National Centre for Clinical Audit (NCCA) was established within National Quality and Patient Safety (NQPS) in 2022. This marked an important step in the HSE’s continued efforts to improve the quality and safety of healthcare for patients. Under the Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023, clinical audit is specifically acknowledged and safeguarded, enabling it to contribute effectively to patient safety and quality assurance.
The National Open Disclosure Framework aims to promote clear and consistent communication between healthcare providers, patients/service users, and their support persons when something goes wrong during healthcare provision. The Framework also guides relevant health and social care service providers through the substantial cultural change required to improve patient/service user outcomes and experience in this area.
It is the policy of the Health Service Executive (HSE) that all Patient Safety Incidents are identified, reported and reviewed so that learning from events can be shared to improve the quality and safety of services. In addition to the requirements set out in the HSE Incident Management Framework, patient safety incidents require disclosure in accordance with the requirements of the HSE Open Disclosure Policy. The HSE informs the Department of Health of major/significant patient/service user safety incidents and issues of concern through the communications protocol.
Patient Safety continues to be a fundamental component in the creation and maintenance of safe healthcare systems. Quality improvement for patient safety is embedded at every level of the health service through providing effective leadership, empowering, and supporting staff and meaningful engagement with patients.
