Sir, - I refer to Mr Padraig O'Morain's article of Saturday, June 30th in which he claims that the "doctors' silence" on the allegations made by Mr Kevin Murphy, Ombudsman to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Strategic Management Initiative regarding the investigation of patient complaints and poor record-keeping is an admission of guilt on their part.
I want to assure Mr O'Morain and the general public that our alleged silence should not be confused with acceptance of the allegations. As the allegations were made by the holder of a statutory office to a committee of the Oireachtas, the IHCA takes them extremely seriously.
On reading press reports of the Ombudsman's presentation, we immediately sought and have arranged to meet him to discuss his concerns.
We have also sought a meeting with the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Strategic Management Initiative and the chairman, Mr Dick Roche TD, has accepted our request to make a presentation to his committee on the matter.
This association has defended the position of consultants publicly following the publication of the statements attributed by the Ombudsman. Mr O'Morain knows well where I can be contacted, had he chosen to do so.
It has been well established that our public hospital system is creaking under pressure. Patients experience enormous difficulty in getting the treatment they require. Unfortunately, doctors and nurses do not always have sufficient time to devote to their patients or their next of kin who have queries or complaints. With 870,000 discharges from our public hospitals last year, even a 1 per cent level of dissatisfaction would generate an enormous number of complaints. On the other hand, a 99 per cent satisfaction level is beyond what most people attain in their jobs on a day-to-day basis. Certainly this figure is unattainable in our overcrowded and under-resourced hospitals at present.
Given the choice of treating a patient who is 72 hours on a trolley or discussing a complaint with the next of kin of a patient, amid the mayhem that frequently exists in our hospitals, what would be Mr O'Morain's or indeed Mr Murphy's decision? - Yours, etc.,
Finbarr Fitzpatrick, Secretary General, Irish Hospital Consultants Association, Dublin 14.