Healthcare Law

A further delay to the introduction of a long-awaited compensation scheme for injuries linked to vaccinations is "very disappointing", a solicitor has said. An expert group chaired by Mr Justice Charles Meenan in 2020 recommended the introduction of the scheme as a "matter of urgency", having been c

A draft national policy framework for open disclosure in the Irish health and social care sector has gone out for public consultation. The Department of Health developed the draft national open disclosure framework to provide a consistent approach to open disclosure across the entirety of the health

The legal framework underpinning the ownership and governance arrangements for the new National Maternity Hospital (NMH) has been agreed by ministers following an extended political row. Campaigners and opposition parties have raised concerns about possible religious influence in the hospital after

Roger McMillan, managing partner and head of healthcare at Belfast-based Carson McDowell, has been named as a recipient of the 2022 Industry Defender Award by the board of directors of the Medical Professional Liability (MPL) Association. The award is presented to individual defence lawyers who have

A solicitor has called for period payment order (PPO) legislation to be revised to link payments to wage inflation rather than consumer prices. David O'Malley, a partner at Callan Tansey Solicitors, made the call outside the High Court after judges approved a third interim payment to his client Ruby

The UK Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal in a high-profile case aimed at preventing the prescription of puberty-blocking drugs to transgender children under the age of 16. In Bell v Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust, lawyers for Keira Bell – a woman who said she regretted taking pubert

Legislation is set to be drawn up by government to strengthen the rights of individuals in relation to their health information. The Health Information Bill will provide for the appointment of a "national health information guardian", who will be an independent champion for individuals and the publi

Personal injury lawyers have called on the Irish government to establish a statutory compensation scheme for vaccine-related injuries. An expert group chaired by Mr Justice Charles Meenan recommended in December 2020 that the government establish a vaccine compensation scheme "as a matter of urgency

Two lawyers have been appointed as members of Leopardstown Park Hospital Board for a five-year term. Barrister Ciara Davin and solicitor Doirín Mulligan have been appointed by health minister Stephen Donnelly to serve on the Board until 17 February 2026.

Northern Ireland's High Court has denied leave for judicial review to an applicant who believed that being forced to rely on in-patient mental health treatments violated his rights under Articles 2 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The court held that systems in place to provide ment

The Court of Appeal has ruled that the Health Service Executive (HSE) was required to carry out assessments of children with suspected disabilities on a chronological and nationwide basis. In so ruling, the Court rejected a submission that the HSE could carry out such assessments of need on a region

Dr Sandra Duffy comments on last week’s English Court of Appeal ruling on transgender children’s access to puberty blockers. On Friday 17th September, the Court of Appeal for England and Wales handed down its decision in the appeal of Bell v Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust. This judgment

A disabled child in Northern Ireland, represented by the Children's Law Centre, has been successful in a High Court challenge of the decision to repurpose temporary respite care facilities during the Covid-19 pandemic. The child, now aged 12, was adversely affected by the decision to repurpose a fac

Barrister Marguerite Bolger SC has been reportedly been appointed by ministers to lead talks with hospital consultants about the roll-out of Sláintecare. Ms Bolger will chair talks in September aimed at persuading medical specialists who will work exclusively within the new public system to a

A court ruling that a 16-year-old transgender girl does not require court permission to access hormone blockers will "bring comfort" to other young trans people in Northern Ireland, a solicitor has said. In a judgment handed down in May and published earlier this month, Mrs Justice Siobhan Keegan sa