The Medical Protection Society (MPS) yesterday hosted a parliamentary event with a range of lawyers, medico and dentolegal experts, with 20 TDs in attendance.

Speakers at the reception at Leinster House, hosted alongside Barry Ward TD, argued that pre-action protocols are urgently needed in Ireland for doctors, dentists and patients alike.

A 2024 report by MPS said protracted claims processes in Ireland are affecting patients’ and doctors’ mental wellbeing while racking up legal costs that are among the highest in the world.

Pre-action protocols are a set of guidelines, laid out through legislation, which explain the conduct and steps a court expects parties to take before claims proceedings can commence. This encourages claims to be settled outside of the court and litigation and reduces the time the claims process takes.

Speakers at the reception told TDs that change in this area is long over-due. 

Sara Grewar, claims team lead at MPS, said: “MPS data shows that a claim in Ireland takes just over four years — 1,462 days — on average to resolve, which is 56 per cent longer than in Hong Kong (940 days), the UK (939 days) and Singapore (938 days).

“The average legal cost for a claim in Ireland — €34,646 — is also 191 per cent more expensive than in the UK, 26 per cent more expensive than in Singapore and 56 per cent more expensive than in Malaysia.”

Noel Kavanagh, Dental Protection’s deputy dental director, said: “Patients and family members are clearly suffering due to the current system.

“No patient who experiences harm due to clinical negligence in Ireland should have to wait an unnecessarily long time to receive compensation, and neither party involved in the claim should be dragged through a process that is longer than it needs to be.”

Ellen Walsh, a medicolegal consultant at MPS, added: “Through our work representing over 16,000 healthcare professionals in Ireland we see first-hand the impact the painfully slow claims process has on the health and mental wellbeing of healthcare professionals involved.

“In addition to the personal and professional impact, these delays also have a negative impact on the delivery of healthcare as clinicians may adopt avoidance behaviours such as defensive medicine to try to minimise the risk of clinical negligence claims.”

Sinead Keavey, partner at Carson McDowell, said: “Plaintiff and defence lawyers are ready for change. We have been working on the basis that change will come since 2010 when the then president of the High Court set up a working group on medical negligence and periodic payments.

“It is my experience, having defended doctors for the past 20 years in Ireland, that legal teams want to engage in more productive ways to reach early resolution for our clients.”

Mary Hough, head of healthcare at Hayes Solicitors, added: “We are so very close to being able to facilitate early resolution of clinical claims, reduce costs and achieve better and quicker outcomes for patients and clinicians.

“It is frustrating to have to keep apologising for a system that could easily be so much better for patients and clinicians — the best solution is often the simplest one.

“Pre-action protocols and case management have been tried, tested and proven to be a success in other jurisdictions. It is crying out for the final steps to be taken to introduce them in the ROI.”