Sir, – It is once again concerning that the leader writer in the "paper of record" calls for the publication of a draft report that, in its current form, tramples upon the constitutional rights of certain health service staff ("Hiqa stands its ground", April 9th).
Is The Irish Times suggesting that Hiqa "publish and be damned" a report that is currently in draft form, incomplete and contains inaccuracies? This is a curious suggestion considering that Hiqa itself has said (in a letter to the HSE dated February 2nd) that the draft report may contain information or preliminary findings of fact "that have yet to be fully finalised", whose "details may change between this current version and the final report" and that "is incomplete and subject to change".
Indeed The Irish Times carried a blatant example of such an inaccuracy in headlines on its front page on April 8th when it stated "HSE chiefs did not visit hospital despite RTÉ revelations". The article stated incorrectly that "senior HSE officials failed to visit Portlaoise hospital to assess safety".
While the HSE has declined to comment on the series of selective leaks to The Irish Times on findings within the draft report, preferring instead to provide any comments directly to Hiqa by way of an official response, the true situation is that HSE officials, at the highest level in the organisation, did visit Portlaoise following the Prime Time programme with a view to assessing and improving safety and quality of services.
Furthermore, the leader writer incorrectly states that the HSE director general complained of 250 adverse findings that affect “senior people in the HSE”.
In fact, the approximately 250 adverse findings relate to the services provided by all grades of staff, clinical and management, a significant number of whom were not notified by Hiqa of findings against them nor given an opportunity to respond to the findings. It is this lack of fairness, factual accuracy and due process that the HSE is seeking to remedy. This is in the best interests of staff, the hospital concerned, those who use its services and for improvements in the health services generally.
The HSE once again reiterates the importance of reports published by Hiqa in order to ensure ongoing improvements in the safety and quality of health and social care services.
However, reports when they are complete and published must be of the highest standard, guaranteeing accuracy and fairness of procedure to all concerned. Ill-considered and poorly informed calls for anything less serve nobody well. – Yours, etc,
PAUL CONNORS,
National Director
for Communications,
Health Services Executive,
Dr Steevens’s Hospital,
Dublin 8.