The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) says it found improvements across the health services it inspects in 2024.  

The findings are in HIQA’s Overview Report of the Monitoring and Regulation of Healthcare Services in 2024, published today, which highlights HIQA’s inspection and monitoring activity as healthcare services responded and adapt to a changing landscape. 

The findings outlined in this report show that HIQA inspections have been key driving factors in delivering sustained improvement in healthcare services for the benefit of people using services. HIQA has seen a continued effort from many service providers to use the findings from inspections to drive improvements and positive outcomes for patients. 

While good standards of care were observed by HIQA, healthcare remains a challenging environment and a number of key areas require ongoing improvement. The overview report found that hospitals continue to be challenged with suitable infrastructure to support demand, bed capacity and sufficient workforce among other issues.  

HIQA’s Director of Healthcare Regulation, Sean Egan, said: “Our inspectors have spoken to many patients who have praised the healthcare staff who have cared for them. We regularly observe excellent practice from committed staff working in a challenging environment.

“While we are seeing tangible improvements in healthcare services, resourcing and capacity requirements, particularly in acute hospitals, need to be addressed to meet service demand. These shortfalls directly affect both patients and the workforce on a daily basis, and this becomes increasingly crucial as we come into the Winter months.”

HIQA inspections have shown examples of improved levels of compliance in healthcare services in 2024. In situations where findings from previous inspections facilitated comparison on re-inspection in 2024, 41% of national standards assessed on re-inspection showed improvements. 

In addition, in facilities that provide medical exposure to ionising radiation, the number of regulations assessed as not compliant was 5%, which is significantly lower than the 12% identified between 2021 and 2023. This demonstrates both the value of healthcare regulation and the commitment from health services to address non-compliance in the interest of delivering high-quality care and keeping patients safe.

Furthermore, the report outlines HIQA’s expanding remit including new functions under the Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023 which commenced in September 2024. This legislation expanded HIQA’s remit into private hospitals for the first time, meaning both public and private hospitals are now monitored against the National Standards for Safer Better Healthcare. Additional legislation supporting HIQA’s regulation and oversight of healthcare services includes the Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Act 2024 and the Patient Safety (Licensing) Bill. HIQA continues to engage with the Department of Health to progress these important pieces of legislation that will further strengthen HIQA’s role in patient safety and our health service.  

John Tuffy, HIQA’s Head of Healthcare Regulation continued “It is crucial that the health system is agile, resilient and responsive to anticipate and meet the projected demand for healthcare services. With technological innovation advancing at an ever-increasing pace, healthcare itself is changing, in the way it is delivered presenting both new opportunities and challenges. HIQA is committed to supporting and engaging with healthcare services providers in this evolving landscape.”

Ends.

Further Information:

Marty Whelan, Head of Communications and Stakeholder Engagement, HIQA
085 805 5202
mwhelan@hiqa.ie 

Notes to the editor:

• Under Section 8 of the Health Act 2007 (as amended), HIQA is responsible for monitoring compliance with national standards. Using these powers, HIQA may make recommendations for improvement of care, but under current legislation HIQA cannot enforce their implementation.
• In 2024, HIQA continued its programme to monitor compliance in 40 healthcare services inspected across the acute, specialist and post-acute settings including the first inspection of a private hospital against the National Standards for Safer Better Healthcare.
• HIQA is the competent authority in Ireland with responsibility for regulating medical exposure to ionising radiation. HIQA regulates approximately 1,430 medical radiological facilities across Ireland, which provide a range of medical exposure service types.
• The Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023 (the Patient Safety Act) commenced on 26 September 2024 which expanded HIQA’s monitoring remit to private hospitals. As a result, HIQA now monitors an additional 23 hospitals, bringing the total number of public and private healthcare service providers under HIQA’s remit to 116 services.
• The Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Act 2024 is intended to mandate HIQA to regulate certain elements of post-mortem practices, for which HIQA will have enforcement powers. Regulations relating to port-mortem practices are in development.
• The Patient Safety (Licensing) Bill, when enacted, will introduce a licensing requirement for all hospitals, both public and private, and certain services that are considered potentially high-risk. The bill is being progressed by the Department of Health.