Just one out of four investigations into baby deaths at Cavan General Hospital since 2012 has been completed, it has emerged.
The deaths of two babies in the hospital in the past week have sparked two new Health Service Executive investigations as well as prompting questions about the status of investigations into previous deaths.
Senior officials of the RCSI Hospitals Group, which includes Cavan, were in the hospital yesterday to discuss with local staff the fallout from the latest controversies.
Minister for Health Simon Harris said it was important for investigations on the two deaths to have a "speedy conclusion".
Legal action
The hospital group said a second review of the death of baby Jamie Flynn in the hospital in November 2012 was ongoing. The first review was quashed by court order after the consultant involved took legal action to prevent its publication.
A report into the death of another baby in April 2014 has been completed and sent to the family, who requested it not be published, according to a hospital group spokesman. The recommendations in the report have been implemented, he said.
Two further reviews, into deaths in May 2014 and May 2015, are described as ongoing.
The investigation ordered into the death of a baby in the hospital last Sunday will focus on the treatment provided to the mother when she arrived by ambulance suffering from severe haemorrhaging in pregnancy.
The first priority was to stabilise the woman’s condition and there is no evidence of any delay in treating her labour, official sources have indicated.
However, another source said there were difficulties contacting the on-call obstetric consultant by phone and an off-call consultant had to be contacted. The baby died before the emergency Caesarean was carried out.
The hospital has ordered an investigation into this death, and the separate death of another baby last Wednesday.
Speaking on Newstalk radio, Mr Harris said: “I think it is really important that we have these reports so we can establish the facts. It’s also very important that we respect patient confidentiality at this very sensitive and difficult time for families.
“It’s absolutely essential that people can have confidence in their maternity services, and I see a speedy conclusion of these reports, so the facts can be known, as a very important part of that confidence.”
Sinn Féin called for the publication of all previous investigations into deaths in the maternity unit over recent years. At least four previous deaths are under investigation.
Local TD Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said there was nothing yet to suggest anything remiss had taken place in relation to the service provided at the hospital and all facts needed to be established before any conclusions were reached.
Confidence
“The issue of confidence needs to be addressed and this can only be done by the conclusion and publication of all previous investigations regarding the maternity services at Cavan General Hospital,” he said.
Former master of the Rotunda Hospital Dr Sam Coulter Smith said an increase in coroners' inquests may be delaying investigations into perinatal deaths.
“A coroner’s inquest can take a number of years to happen and that can delay the release of results and delay the results of any inquiry for quite some time, and that can be a source of frustration for families,” he said.
Dr Coulter Smith pointed out that the perinatal mortality rate at Cavan General Hospital is relatively low.
“It is important that nobody should jump to any conclusions. These things happen at intervals and often perinatal deaths are unexplained. Sometimes they stem from a problem with the placenta or the umbilical cord; sometimes there’s an inherent issues within the baby that makes it susceptible to become unwell or sometimes die.”
