Michael McHale , 2025-05-16 07:30:00
Letter signed by 14 organisations urges Government to take the final steps needed to implement pre-action protocols
A group of organisations representing patients, doctors and dentists – as well as legal firms in Ireland – have united to urge the Government to take steps to reduce the human and financial costs associated with clinical negligence claims.
In a letter addressed to Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan, the group said the protracted claims system ‘adds insult to injury’ for patients, whilst also impacting negatively on healthcare professionals’ mental wellbeing.
“When something goes wrong, it is a difficult decision to seek legal redress. As well as the personal and financial risk, patients face a protracted claims system which is overburdened, deeply traumatic and adds insult to injury. Our legal system should seek to mitigate further harm to patients and families,” the letter stated.
“For the healthcare professionals involved, the claims process is described as having a profound emotional and psychological impact resulting in anxiety, depression and for some, the consideration of ending their clinical career, or even, suicidal thoughts.
“A protracted process without clear, standardised routes for early information-sharing also leads to increased legal costs. This can impact all parties, as well as having an onward impact on the amount of public finances otherwise better invested in the provision of high-quality healthcare.”
The letter said pre-action protocols (a set of guidelines laid down in legislation explaining the conduct and steps a court expects parties to take before claims proceedings can commence) would go some way towards fixing a system that currently benefits no-one, and called on the Government to take the final steps needed to implement them, relieving needless suffering for all concerned.
“The delivery of pre-action protocols is long overdue and has been a commitment of successive Ministers for both Justice and Health departments. The provisions already exist in section 219 of the Legal Services (Regulation) Act 2015,” the letter added.
“As organisations working with health and dental professionals, patients, lawyers and researchers, we would welcome your focus on this crucial tort reform and to take the final steps needed to ensure it is implemented without delay. Their implementation would go some way towards fixing a system that does not currently benefit anyone involved.”
The letter concluded: “The ambition of our combined request of you, in your ministerial roles, is to use the gift of your positions to relieve needless suffering for all concerned.”
Previously-released data from the Medical Protection Society (MPS) highlighted that a claim in Ireland takes just over four years (1462 days) on average to resolve. This is 56 per cent longer than in Hong Kong (940 days), the UK (939 days) and Singapore (938 days).
The research also found that the average legal cost for a claim in Ireland – €34,646 – is 191 per cent more expensive than in the UK, 26 per cent more expensive than in Singapore and 56 per cent more expensive than in Malaysia.
An MPS survey of 200 doctors who have experienced a clinical negligence claim found that 91 per cent were worried about their mental wellbeing during the claim. A similar proportion (88 per cent) were worried about the length of time the process was taking.
Almost half (44 per cent) said that their experience of a claim has resulted in them reconsidering their future as a doctor, while 96 per cent supported the earlier resolution of claims by having legislation for pre-action protocols.
The letter was coordinated by the MPS and signed by Patients for Patient Safety Ireland, Irish Patients Association, Patient Empowerment, Irish College of General Practitioners, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland, Irish College of Ophthalmologists, Association of Anaesthetists, Irish Dental Association, Irish Dental Hygienists Association, Hayes Solicitors LLP, Carson McDowell and Matheson LLP.
