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Gaps in healthcare regulation mean whistleblowers may go unheeded, says watchdog

Protected Disclosures Commissioner says some agencies showed a reluctance to deal with reports of wrongdoing

Protected Disclosures Commissioner Ger Deering said regulatory gaps must be addressed to protect the public. Photograph: Michael Chester

Ian Curran
Tue May 7 2024 - 14:06

Gaps in regulation of the private healthcare sector, including hospitals, means wrongdoing highlighted by whistleblowers may not be fully addressed, the Government office set up to handle protected disclosures has said.

The Government should “carefully consider” how these gaps can be addressed and “implement legislative change”, the Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner has warned in its first annual report.

Established last year under the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022 and headed by Commissioner for Protected Disclosures Ger Deering, the body’s main function is to forward disclosures on to the body best placed to follow up on allegations of misbehaviour or wrongdoing. In some cases, the relevant authority is prescribed in legislation but in others, the protected disclosures office must decide the most suitable recipient of the disclosure.

“The majority of gaps in regulation that we have identified are in the care sector, and in particular in private congregated residential settings (other than private nursing homes), private hospitals and for non-medical issues in private medical and dental practices,” the office said in the report.

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Last year, it received 11 reports of wrongdoing in private congregated residential settings. These can include drug rehabilitation centres and homes in which people living with a disability are resident.

The Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner said neither the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) nor the Health Service Executive (HSE) have specific statutory responsibility for these facilities. While it has identified the HSE as the most appropriate body to investigate reports of wrongdoing in some cases, it does not have statutory responsibility and is not “well placed to follow-up on the allegation”.

The commission also received two reports about medical consultants employed by private hospitals last year, it said. “As the hospitals are private hospitals, the HSE does not have remit to investigate the allegations.”

Similar gaps exist in the regulation of general practitioners and private dental practices, it warned.

Overall, the education sector saw the most protected disclosures with 42 reports, followed by aviation with 39 and defence with 34.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission was the biggest recipient of reports from the office with 27, followed by the HSE with 14 and the Irish Aviation Authority with 11 reports.

“It is important that organisations take reports of wrongdoing seriously,” Mr Deering said. “Such reports should be considered an important tool in good corporate governance, and in identifying and stopping wrongdoing. Some organisations do not take this view and demonstrate a reluctance to deal with reports of wrongdoing, offering a multitude of reasons or technicalities not to deal with a disclosure.

“In our first year of operation we experienced some situations where organisations were relying on narrow interpretations of the legislation to avoid dealing with reports.

“Organisations that receive reports ought to be mindful of the fact that by following up reports of wrongdoing, they are not only upholding their legal mandate, but fostering and encouraging a culture of accountability, integrity and transparency, and improving the common good.”

Ian Curran

Ian Curran

Ian Curran is a Business reporter with The Irish Times

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