THE NAMES of doctors working in the public health system should not be excluded from court pleadings in cases of alleged medical malpractice, a medical negligence lawyer has said.
Rod Tyrrell, a Dublin solicitor who specialises in medical negligence, told The Irish Timesit was wrong that doctors should be granted anonymity on affidavits and other court documents when other citizens against whom cases are being taken are automatically named.
Under the Clinical Indemnity Scheme, indemnity is provided to doctors on an “enterprise basis”.
The enterprise assumes responsibility for any negligence on the part of doctors, nurses, midwives and allied healthcare professionals employed in the public system.
The indemnity scheme has covered non-consultant hospital doctors and allied healthcare professionals since 2002, and was introduced for consultants in 2004.
The State Claims Agency deals with all cases taken by individuals against public hospitals and doctors.
The agency has written to lawyers telling them it is “neither necessary nor appropriate” for them to include the names of doctors on pleadings, personal injuries summonses and other documentation.
Mr Tyrrell said while doctors’ names do come out if court cases go ahead, most cases are settled “on the steps of the court” and names never emerge.
“It is not as though medical negligence cases are taken lightly – another doctor has to say there has been negligence before a case can be brought,” he said.
A spokeswoman for the State Claims Agency said there was no requirement for doctors to be named since the introduction of the indemnity scheme.
“The enterprise assumes responsibility for the vicarious negligence by act or omission on the part of doctors, nurses, midwives and allied healthcare professionals,” she said.
