Every time a maternal medical negligence case is taken, a midwife leaves the profession, according to a union representing senior doctors.<\/p>\n
The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA<\/a>) annual meeting in Killarney<\/a> on Saturday focused on medical negligence, risk and reform.<\/p>\n President of the High Court<\/a>, Judge David Barniville, said the healthcare and justice systems \u201cintersect in a whole host of ways\u201d.<\/p>\n He said the courts have made changes in recent years to improve the way in which these cases are handled, \u201cbut ultimately they need to be underpinned by legislation\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are all these recommendations going back, in some cases, 20 years. Pre-action protocol is in legislation but requires ministerial regulation,\u201d he said, adding that an implementation group designed to introduce reforms hasn\u2019t met in several months.<\/p>\n Pre-action protocols refer to a set of rules requiring early engagement between claimants and doctors. It is envisaged that this will cut the number of cases reaching the High Court or only being settled after the protracted involvement of lawyers.<\/p>\n In addition to benefiting all parties, such a move could help curb the growth in the State\u2019s liability for medical negligence claims. <\/p>\n \u201cCourts aren\u2019t experts; legislators are supposed to be the experts. We are at the limit in terms of what we can do,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n [\u00a0\u2018I felt so broken\u2019: Three mothers on the impact of stillbirths and miscarriagesOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n Prof Gabrielle Colleran, president of the IHCA, said these cases, and their adversarial nature, have a huge impact on staff.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery time we have a medical negligence case in maternity services, you lose a midwife who was involved in it, who then leaves practice,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you think about all that goes into training … we need to change that.<\/p>\n Eavanna Fitzgerald, a barrister who practised for 20 years, said nobody wants patients or doctors having legal cases \u201clooming over them for five years\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re losing sleep for five years. Patients who have already had [an] adverse event are having repeated trauma,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Fitzgerald said, in her experience, between 95 per cent and 97 per cent of cases are settled before the trial; however, she said sometimes this can be on the steps of the court, which is still traumatising.<\/p>\n