Launch of Health Care Rights and Responsibilities Report
18 April 2005

The Tanaiste and the Minister for Health and Children Mary Harney td today opened a half-day conference organised by the Irish Patients' Association to consider whether the European Charter of Patients' Rights should be adopted to improve the rights of patients in Ireland. The conference considered a review of the European Charter of Patients' Rights carried out by a team of researchers from the School of Nursing and School of Law and Government commissioned by the Irish Patients Association.

Merck Sharp and Dohme Ireland (Human Health) Ltd and Pfizer Health Care Ireland provided the funding for the research, and the research itself was carried out collaboratively by a team of academic staff from the School of Nursing and the School of Law and Government.

Dr Donal O Mathuna of the School of Nursing was the lead researcher and is an expert in the area of ethical issues, particularly those involving embryo and stem cell research and moral reasoning. He has recently joined the `International Collaboration on Nursing and Midwifery in the Third Reich' project, which is examining the bioethical values of the era. His co-researchers included Professor Anne Scott, Head of the School of Nursing, and Anne Walsh-Daneshmandi.

Dr Adam McAuley from the School of Law and Government together with Brenda Daly provided the legal perspective for the medico-ethical issues. Dr Adam McAuley has expertise in the health care law, patients' rights, human rights, rights and responsibilities, medical negligence, the interaction between law and ethics, confidentiality and regulation of the health care profession. He has written extensively on these areas. Brenda Daly has experience in the alternative dispute resolution mechanism, particularly the arbitration and mediation of disputes between patients and health care workers.

The report found that the Charter had strengths and weaknesses and also emphasised the need for patients and society to recognise that rights also imply responsibilities. It recommended that any Charter or Bill of Patients Rights should also take into account the rights and responsibilities of health care professionals. Finally, the report made recommendations for each of the fourteen rights of the European Charter of Patients' Rights.