The Medico-legal Environment in Ireland – Still Bad for Patients, Still Bad for Doctors
Thursday 19th September 7.15-9.15pm
Venue Radisson Blu Hotel, Golden Lane
Our medical negligence system is highly adversarial and is not in the interests of patients, doctors or patient care. In this seminar our guest speakers will tell of the impact of medical negligence litigation on individuals involved, as well as its wider effect on the practice of medicine. In our panel discussion guests will discuss alternative approaches to medical negligence including both short and long-term solutions that may be in the interest of all.
- Medical negligence - patient experience with the Courts process
Professor Eimear Spain, Professor of Health Law, University of Limerick, explains why patients and their families go to court and their experience of the court process including emotional impact and satisfaction with the courts system as a means for settling medical injury cases.
- How Ireland’s medico-legal environment impacts on medical practice.
Dr Martin Daly, GP Co. Galway and Expert Witness, discusses the impact litigation has in General Practice both in terms of the stress and emotional impact on individuals as well as the practice of defensive medicine
Dr Clara Forrest, SHO Cork University Hospital–examines the research on how fear of litigation leads to defensive practice as well as lost opportunities for learning from adverse events.
Professor Noirín Russell, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, UCC and Clinical Director of CervicalCheck, HSE – discusses the impact of a restorative review process on patients, staff and systems - learning from the past and working towards a better future.
- Medical negligence reform to date – what improvement will it make ?
Dr Denis McCauley, GP and Coroner Co Donegal, IMO President provides an overview of legislative reforms to date and discusses what impact , if any, they will have in improving the system for patients and doctors following an adverse event.
- Panel Discussion – alternative approaches to responding to Medical Injury – is it time for fundamental reform?
Our guest speakers join the panel hosted by Professor Matthew Sadlier, Consultant Psychiatrist and Chair of the IMO Consultant Committee to discuss alternative approaches to responding to medical injury and how they might be harnessed to better serve patients and doctors.
Speakers
Professor Eimear Spain, Professor of Health Law, University of Limerick
Professor Eimear Spain, Professor of Health Law, University of Limerick
Eimear Spain is a Professor of Law in the University of Limerick. Eimear's research focuses on issues of vulnerability on the frontline in the healthcare and criminal justice systems. She has published in the areas of health, criminal, constitutional and administrative law both nationally and internationally. She has worked with and secured funding from important stakeholders including the HSE, Cosc, The National Office for the Prevention of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence, the Department of Justice, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, An Garda Síochána, the Irish Prison Service, the Irish Research Council and the Council of Europe. Much of her research is interdisciplinary and empirical in nature, interrogating the gap between theory and practice, with colleagues from a variety of disciplines including nursing, midwifery, medicine, allied health, psychology, policing, youth justice and prisons.
Dr Clara Forrest, Senior House Officer, Cork University Hospital
Dr Clara Forrest graduated from University College Cork in 2021 and was awarded an Academic Track Internship at Cork University Hospital. Her interdisciplinary research evaluated the current medicolegal landscape in Ireland and explored medical error and litigation during breast cancer care. This work continued during her completion of an MRes in Medical Sciences at University College Cork. Peer-reviewed publications from her work include “Patients' and doctors’ views and experiences of the patient safety trajectory of breast cancer care” which was published in The Breast in February 2024, “Current Irish medicolegal landscape: an unsustainable trajectory” which was printed in BMJ Open Quality in August 2023 and “Learning From Medical Litigation” which featured in JCO Oncology Practice in April 2023. She is in her second year of General Internal Medicine Basic Specialist Training in the South Hub and aims to pursue a career in Medical Oncology.
Professor Noirín Russell, Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist and Clinical Director of CervicalCheck
Professor Nóirín Russell MD FRCPI is a medical graduate of University College Cork. She works as a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Cork University Maternity Hospital and is an honorary Clinical Professor at University College Cork. In August 2020, she was appointed as the Clinical Director of CervicalCheck, the Irish national cervical screening programme and has recently been appointed to the European Commission Initiative on cervical cancer. She is a BSCCP accredited colposcopist and colposcopy trainer.
Professor Russell’s clinical and research interests include cervical screening, quality assurance. risk assessment in pregnancy, patient safety and staff engagement. She is interested in patient-focussed communication and society-wide discussion of harm in healthcare.
Dr Denis McCauley, GP and Coroner Donegal and President of the IMO
Dr Denis McCauley is a GP and coroner for the district of Donegal and is President of the Irish Medical Organisation. He is a native of Moville, Co. Donegal and graduated in medicine at Trinity College Dublin in 1975. Dr McCauley is a General Practitioner in a group practice at the Millbrae Surgery in Stranorlar Co. Donegal for the last 30 yrs.
To register for the seminar, email Vanessa Hetherington at vhetherington@imo.ie mailto:vhetherington@imo.ie