A new “comprehensive” national framework designed to strengthen patient safety, accountability and quality improvement across surgical services in Ireland has been published.

A Framework for Surgical Clinical Governance was launched by the RCSI following work by the College’s Expert Group on Best Practice in Clinical Governance Surgical Leadership.

Aligned with international best practice, the framework is intended for use across public, voluntary and independent healthcare settings. It outlines four key domains – morbidity and mortality meetings, multidisciplinary team engagement, patient safety and clinical audit, and the governance of innovation, research and new technologies – which are “central to the safe and effective governance of surgical care”.  

The framework provides a “governance maturity model” that surgical services can use to assess the extent to which their governance arrangements are embedded, reliable and integrated within the wider hospital system, and in planning progressive improvement over time. 

Prof Deborah McNamara, President of the RCSI, said: “Surgeons are privileged to care for people at some of the most vulnerable moments in their lives. With that privilege comes the profound responsibility to learn from our experiences, as enabled by safe, transparent and learning-oriented surgical governance.”

“High-quality surgical care depends on strong clinical governance, clear accountability and a culture of continuous learning,” continued Prof McNamara. 

“The public have the right to high quality and safe surgical care. This framework is RCSI’s constructive contribution to the national effort to improve patient safety and support our surgical workforce, providing practical guidance for surgeons, clinical leaders and healthcare organisations to support patient safety and improve outcomes. In particular, the use of the governance maturity model will support our hospitals in reflecting on the areas of improvement they need to prioritise.” 

Mr David Moore, Chair of the Expert Group on Best Practice in Clinical Governance in Surgery and RCSI Council Member, said: “Surgical teams across Ireland are committed to delivering safe, effective care, often under significant pressure. This framework is designed to support that work by providing a clear, consistent structure for governance that is clinically led, evidence-informed and focused on learning and improvement. Our aim is to help surgical services strengthen governance in a way that is practical and sustainable.” 

The framework is now available on the RCSI website here. 

The Medical Council has welcomed the publication of the third One Health National Action Plan to address Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) 2026-2030, known as iNAP3.

CEO of the Medical Council, Dr Maria O’Kane, said increasing awareness of AMR is critical to protecting patients.

“According to the World Health Organisation, antimicrobial resistance is one of the top ten global threats to human health,” said Dr O’Kane. “Continued planning and action against AMR will be essential for patient safety into the future, and we welcome iNAP3 as an important step forward.” 

“For doctors, reducing AMR means ensuring that antibiotic medicines are only prescribed and administered when they are genuinely needed. Antimicrobial medicines should only be used where they are required to treat serious infections.

“For patients, not every illness requires an antibiotic, and your doctor will advise you on the most effective treatment. Avoiding unnecessary antibiotics helps protect their effectiveness for the future.”

Earlier this week, the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon launched iNAP3.

According to the Department of Health, building “on the strong foundations” laid under iNAP1 (2017-2020) and iNAP2 (2021-2025), iNAP3 (2026-2030) “reinforces Ireland’s commitment” to tackling the growing global threat of AMR through a ;One Health approach; – recognising the interconnection between human health, animal health and the environment.

“This [AMR] threat requires a multisectoral approach across human, animal, and environment health to preserve the effectiveness of antimicrobials for future generations,” said the Health Minister.

“With this National Action Plan, iNAP3, we have demonstrated that Ireland is fully committed to a collective approach to combating antimicrobial resistance. However, its success will depend on continued commitment from every sector and from each one of us.

“Since the publication of our first iNAP plan in 2017, significant progress has been made in tackling antimicrobial resistance in the health sector, and I would like to thank all healthcare workers for their efforts in this regard.”

The Government has  announced “a record” €25.8 billion health budget “to support the continued delivery and expansion of quality, affordable healthcare services in 2025”.

According to the Department of Health the funding represents an overall increase of €2.94 billion on the January 2024 allocation.

It will provide for more than 3,300 additional staff, deliver 335 additional hospital beds, “expand services, deliver increased productivity and continue the reductions in waiting lists and trolley numbers”.

The 2025 health budget includes €1.2 billion allocated for existing level of service, €1.5 billion additional funding for 2024 pressures and €335 million in additional new measures.

According to the Government the 2025 budget also includes  €33 million investment “to provide more and better cancer services”, publicly funded HRT products for women experiencing symptoms of menopause and extension of publicly funded IVF as part of €35 million measures for women’s healthcare.

On the budget announcement Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said, “whether it’s an appointment with a GP, a home care package for a loved one, an X-ray or MRI, quick access to emergency care or a minor injury unit, an appointment with a hospital consultant or surgery, Budget 2025 is all about making this a reality for more and more patients and families”.

“We are living longer and living better, but our growing and ageing population place additional demands on our services. We continue to respond to these challenges, and we are placing a strong focus on more productivity alongside investment in increased capacity and in workforce planning to ensure we can meet the needs of our healthcare service into the future.”

In response to Budget 2025’s investment in cancer care, Irish Cancer Society CEO, Ms Averil Power said the charity weclomed “the priority given to people affected by cancer in Budget 2025. The investment provided for in this Budget will benefit people with cancer and their families all over the country”.

She added that “hopefully, this is the beginning of a new approach to funding cancer care that will see sustained increases in ringfenced funding for cancer services going forward”. 

“With cancer cases expected to double by 2045, continued increases in investment will be required to meet increased demand and ensure that Irish patients benefit from advances in cancer research and services.”