The rising costs of medical negligence is one of the biggest challenges for the health service, the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) has said.
Its president, Professor Gabrielle Colleran, told the association's annual conference in Kilkenny that the current estimated liability associated with the State Claims Agency for health claims is €5.3 billion and it could rise further.
She told the meeting that this is draining resources and morale.
Prof Colleran said there was a need for progressive reforms to reduce the cost and emotional and financial burden on patients and doctors.
This includes reduced reliance on overseas expert witnesses.
Professor Rhona Mahony, former master of the National Maternity Hospital, told the conference that, with medical negligence, over 50% of cost claims relate to catastrophic brain injury.
Prof Mahony said financial support for affected individuals and their families is absolutely vital.
She said strategies are needed to prevent catastrophic brain injury and early intervention care pathways for those affected.
She told the meeting that those injured and their families do not need a protracted adversial civil litigation system.
They need early clinical intervention and support and early financial compensation, she added.
Philip Fagan with the State Claims Agency, told the conference that the agency receives 650 new cases a year and most are settled.
Some cases still involve matters from the late 70s and early 80s.
He said that what is needed is a fairer, quicker, smarter, and non-adversarial system.
Mr Fagan said that no health professional goes into hospital to do harm. But people can be under pressure, tired and make mistakes.
He said that pre-action protocols should come in next year to improve the legal system for all.
Increased funding has not translated into patient improvement, says IHCA
The IHCA also said increased health funding in recent years has not translated into meaningful patient improvement across the board.
Prof Colleran said some people in senior positions have suggested this is down to consultants, which is untrue. She said that consultants are committed to productivity.
She told the meeting that if every consultant vacancy was filled overnight, persistent deficits in health infrastructure would still remain.
Meanwhile, new figures from the HSE show significant uptake by consultants of the new public only contract.
Of the 4,900 consultants working for the HSE, 65% have now signed up to the new contract.
It was introduced in 2023 to reduce private practice in public hospitals.
The current base salary scales for the public only posts are around €233,000 to €277,000 a year, plus allowances and higher pay for certain other posts like academic professorships.
The HSE said the biggest uptake of the contract has been seen in the Mater University Hospital, Galway University Hospital and St James’s in Dublin.
Health officials say this uptake has helped reduce overcrowding in some hospitals.
Prof Colleran said that while there has been some improvement in terms of hospital overcrowding, it is not fast enough and one patient on a trolley is one too many.
