About this topic

Irish health system and law on the RCSI theory paper

HSE and its health regions, Sláintecare, HIQA and the Chief Inspector, Children First, the 2005 safety Act and manual handling, the Mental Health Act 2001, complaints, Fair Deal, medical cards.

20 multiple-choice questions, each with an explanation and the document it was checked against. Three questions are free; the pass opens the other 17 and every other topic. Wrong answers come back first the next time you practise, and a question counts as mastered after two correct answers in a row.

Sample questions from this topic

Question 1
What is Sláintecare?
1. AThe HSE national electronic health record programme for hospitals and GPs
2. BThe 2017 cross-party ten-year plan for a universal, single-tier health service
3. CThe national early warning score used to detect deterioration in adult inpatients
4. DThe State scheme that pays part of the cost of long-term nursing home care
Show answer
Answer: B. Sláintecare is the report of the Oireachtas Committee on the Future of Healthcare (May 2017), agreed across parties. Its aims are universal access based on need rather than ability to pay, a shift from hospitals to community and primary care, and integrated regional structures. The health regions are one of its recommendations. The nursing home scheme is Fair Deal; the early warning score is INEWS.
Source: Oireachtas Committee on the Future of Healthcare, Sláintecare Report (May 2017)
Question 2
Which Act established the Health Service Executive (HSE)?
1. ANurses and Midwives Act 2011
2. BHealth Act 2007
3. CHealth Act 1970
4. DHealth Act 2004
Show answer
Answer: D. The Health Act 2004 set up the HSE, which took over from the regional health boards on 1 January 2005. The Health Act 2007 established HIQA; the Health Act 1970 created the health boards the HSE replaced; the Nurses and Midwives Act 2011 established the NMBI.
Source: Health Act 2004, section 6
Question 3
A nurse reports serious understaffing that she believes is endangering patients and later suffers reprisals at work. Which Act protects her?
1. AFreedom of Information Act 2014 (access to records held by public bodies)
2. BProtected Disclosures Act 2014 (as amended in 2022)
3. CData Protection Act 2018 and the GDPR (Article 9)
4. DHealth Act 2007 (HIQA and the Chief Inspector of Social Services)
Show answer
Answer: B. The Protected Disclosures Act 2014, strengthened by the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022, protects workers who report relevant wrongdoing, including danger to health and safety, from penalisation such as dismissal, demotion or harassment. Every public body must have a whistleblowing policy and a named recipient. It backs up the duty in the NMBI Code to raise concerns about unsafe practice.
Source: Protected Disclosures Act 2014

The practice above shuffles the options each time and keeps your score. 30 more free questions across the paper, with a PDF.

Documents behind these questions

Every fact was checked against the public document named on the answer. This topic draws on:

Irish health system and law: RCSI aptitude test practice questions

Irish health system and law on the RCSI theory paper

Sample questions from this topic

Documents behind these questions