Healthcare Law

Northern Ireland's High Court has denied leave for judicial review to an applicant who believed that being forced to rely on in-patient mental health treatments violated his rights under Articles 2 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The court held that systems in place to provide ment

The Court of Appeal has ruled that the Health Service Executive (HSE) was required to carry out assessments of children with suspected disabilities on a chronological and nationwide basis. In so ruling, the Court rejected a submission that the HSE could carry out such assessments of need on a region

Dr Sandra Duffy comments on last week’s English Court of Appeal ruling on transgender children’s access to puberty blockers. On Friday 17th September, the Court of Appeal for England and Wales handed down its decision in the appeal of Bell v Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust. This judgment

A disabled child in Northern Ireland, represented by the Children's Law Centre, has been successful in a High Court challenge of the decision to repurpose temporary respite care facilities during the Covid-19 pandemic. The child, now aged 12, was adversely affected by the decision to repurpose a fac

Barrister Marguerite Bolger SC has been reportedly been appointed by ministers to lead talks with hospital consultants about the roll-out of Sláintecare. Ms Bolger will chair talks in September aimed at persuading medical specialists who will work exclusively within the new public system to a

A court ruling that a 16-year-old transgender girl does not require court permission to access hormone blockers will "bring comfort" to other young trans people in Northern Ireland, a solicitor has said. In a judgment handed down in May and published earlier this month, Mrs Justice Siobhan Keegan sa

Two lawyers have been appointed to registration boards within multi-profession health regulator CORU. Barrister Colm Scott-Byrne has been appointed to the Dietitians Registration Board while solicitor Karen Watret has been appointed to the Medical Scientists Registration Board.

Last month the team at HOMS Assist secured a high value undisclosed settlement and an apology from the HSE for our client, a widow whose young husband died as a result of deficits of care at the University Hospital Kerry, which tragically resulted in his untimely death. However, it took a four-year

An ex-gratia compensation scheme for injuries linked to vaccinations is being established by the government as a matter of priority, according to reports. An expert group chaired by Mr Justice Charles Meenan last year called for a scheme to be established "as a matter of urgency", having been consid

Relaxed blood donation rules allowing for more gay and bisexual men to donate blood in Northern Ireland will be brought into effect next week. Until 2016, there was a blanket ban on men who have had sex with other men donating blood in Northern Ireland.

The Department of Health has sought legal advice on the issue of mixing and matching Covid-19 vaccines from different manufacturers. Attorney general Paul Gallagher SC has been asked to prepare advice for health minister Stephen Donnelly on any possible legal issues in departing from how vaccines we

Health minister Stephen Donnelly has denied that plans to legislate for exclusion zones around abortion clinics have been dropped. A spokesperson for the Department of Health had earlier suggested to the Irish Examiner that "existing public order legislation" could deal with protests outside healthc

Health law expert Dr Eimear Spain has been reappointed to the Psychologists Registration Board (PRB). Dr Spain is a senior lecturer in health law at the University of Limerick (UL). One of her key interest areas is in the field of law and psychology.

Pat Daly breaks down the HSE's complaints procedure in the context of increasing confusion and reluctance among families during the Covid-19 pandemic. Of late, my colleagues and I are receiving complaints from acutely distressed families about what they perceive as ‘lack of care’ of thei

A draft policy on the use of restrictive practices, restraint and seclusion in health and social care settings has gone out to consultation. The 91-page draft document aims to minimise the use of restrictive practices and has been drawn up in conjunction with both service users and health profession