Doctors at children's hospitals afraid to disclose mistakes, report finds

Eva Osborne

Doctors at children's hospitals are afraid to report mistakes over concerns of a potential negative impact on their careers, a report has revealed.

The report carried out by the Medical Council on three Children's Health Ireland sites highlights a number of issues with the human resource (HR) departments.

The inspections of hospitals at Crumlin, Tallaght, and Temple Street were carried out in September of last year.

The report shows staff are feeling 'distressed' over HR management across all three CHI sites.

Examples include doctors not receiving ID badges in a timely manner and delays in receiving interview outcomes, employment contracts, and placement on correct pay scales.

In some cases, doctors were not paid for up to three months following their commencement.

Doctors also voiced frustration over the need to use up to six separate passwords for different systems, leading to a backlog in the issuing of discharge letters, which poses a serious patient safety risk, particularly for cases requiring follow-ups with GPs.

Management acknowledged the intense focus on CHI's ongoing development projects may have diverted attention from workforce and operational priorities.