Sir, – I note with concern the latest figures on complaints against doctors released by the Irish Medical Council. Although the rate of complaints against doctors has dropped, the source of those complaints remains almost unchanged. Once again it is being left to patients to file the vast majority (82 per cent) of all complaints. With almost 87 per cent of all complaints coming from the public or the Medical Council itself one is left to ask where are the complaints from the HSE or hospital management?
When these figures were released the previous year the p resident of the Irish Medical Council highlighted the effective non-existence of complaints from the HSE with a total of one complaint having been filed by the HSE in that period. In the UK almost 25 per cent of all complaints to their General Medical Council come from the NHS yet here the HSE appears to have largely outsourced complaints to the public.
At a time when the costs to the Irish taxpayer of medical negligence cases are soaring, it is rather worrying that hospital management and the HSE do not appear to play any role whatsoever in dealing with sub-performing medics in Ireland. – Yours, etc,
RUARY MARTIN,
Sandyford,
Dublin 18.