Re-thinking accountability in the healthcare profession in Ireland

The collegial ethic of accountability in Irish medicine has come under criticism since the publication of the Lourdes Hospital Report (2006): a government inquiry into the abnormally high figure – 188 – peripartum hysterectomies that were carried out at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, between 1974 and 1988. Significant was the report’s critique that it made recommendations for an authority of leadership that is accountable to patient care and safety. This book, therefore, examines the current status of accountable leadership in Irish hospitals, through an investigation of the extent to which the report’s recommendations have been implemented, if at all. A theoretical analysis of the collegial ethic of accountability in medicine is considered in three arenas: (1) Irish politics – the politically-commissioned reports in healthcare; (2) Irish medical staff – the cultural paradigm of whistle-blowing; and (3) the increasing self- policing role of healthcare management. The analysis should evoke a re-thinking of accountability in the healthcare profession, and should be especially useful to professionals in the healthcare field.