The Intersection of Conduct and Care – The Irish Patients Association

The Irish Patients Association, founded as Ireland’s first independent, cross-disease patient advocacy group, operates on a non-political basis with a focus on patient safety and rights protection. Since 2013, the association has been reliant on voluntary work without public funding from the Health Service Executive (HSE) or paid staff.

Patient safety in Ireland’s healthcare system remains fraught with issues, including problems within Emergency Departments, prolonged waiting times for consultant appointments and surgeries, restricted access to GP panels in various regions, and persistent funding overruns. While some issues are due to resource limitations, others require cultural and operational changes rather than just financial input. A critical area for improvement is the corporate conduct towards patients, which often lacks the expected standards of respect and professionalism. Corporate conduct encompasses how healthcare organizations interact with patients, manage medical errors, allocate resources, and ensure transparency and responsiveness in addressing patient concerns and complaints.