The State’s outstanding liability for health-related negligence claims is estimated to be €5 billion and rising. Last week, the Minister for Health told the Oireachtas Health Committee that the State Claims Agency, which deals with medical negligence, needs an additional €50 million this year, bringing the total allocation for 2024 to €485 million.
The rise in costs is attributed to an increase in claims and also the value of awards, particularly for catastrophic birth injuries. These tragedies account for 2 per cent of claims, but over 50 per cent of costs, according to the recent report of the Interdepartmental Working Group on the Rising Cost of Health-Related Claims.
The group concluded that reducing the incidence of adverse events and clinical harm must be the “central philosophy” of any plan to reduce the cost of claims. Even more importantly, of course, this would reduce the terrible human cost. A number of strategies to learn lessons from adverse events and enhance care for patients are identified.
The report is less convincing in terms of what can be done to bring down the costs associated with litigation, which amount to a quarter of the total bill. It is clear-eyed on why so many families resort to litigation; the gap between the care available from the HSE for infants and adults with birth-related catastrophic injuries and the care that is deemed necessary by the courts. For many families without the necessary financial means, it is the only way to provide for their loved ones.
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The group says there are measures that can be instituted quickly to improve the process and reduce costs, some of which have been legislated for but not implemented. However, its members rejected more significant reforms such as no-fault compensation and capping of damages, saying they are incompatible with common law and the Constitution. The lack of ambition in this regard is disappointing, at least in some areas.
And the obligation on parents to pursue long and risks legal processes takes a heavy toll.