Inquiry into deaths of two women

Investigations are under way into the deaths of two elderly women in separate hospitals after waiting up to 14 hours for emergency treatment. The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, told the Dail that examinations by the relevant health boards were under way and he would take appropriate action when these inquiries were complete, which might include an independent inquiry.

In one recent case, a 66-year-old woman from Co Clare spent 10 hours trying to find a hospital bed, having failed to be admitted to two hospitals in the Mid-Western Health Board region. In the second case, in December last year, an 85-year-old woman spent 14 hours waiting for treatment in St James's Hospital, Dublin, for a broken pelvic bone, a laceration to her elbow and other injuries after falling while on a bus. Both women died from their injuries.

The Minister told Fine Gael's health spokesman, Mr Alan Shatter, that the investigation into the death of the 66-year-old woman would be completed at an early date, and his Department would take appropriate follow-up action to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Mr Shatter, who raised the two cases during Health Questions, asked if it was appropriate that the board should investigate itself and said that an independent inquiry should be established.

The Minister said the follow-up action could be to establish an independent inquiry but it would depend on the outcome of the report. There might be legal proceedings arising from the case, and it was important first of all that the health board conduct an investigation to ensure such a situation did not recur.

Mr Shatter said it was a "scandalous outrage" that the 66-year-old woman had four separate ambulance rides, spent five hours in Limerick Regional Hospital, which refused to admit her, was taken to Our Lady's psychiatric hospital in Ennis, which also refused to admit her, and then went to Ennis General Hospital where she died the following morning. He suggested that the "health board has a vested legal interest in not reporting comprehensively and truthfully on what occurred".

Mr Martin emphatically rejected this and said it would be "unthinkable and unacceptable if any health board considered itself to have a vested interest in suppressing the truth". The Minister said the delay and manner in which the Co Clare woman was treated was unacceptable, but he would not be satisfied "if we were to take it as a given that health boards should have a vested interest in concealing the truth".

Incidents of this nature, "are not, in many instances, caused by a lack of resources but occur because certain systems and procedures did not for whatever reason fall into place".

Mr Martin, who expressed his sympathy to the families of both women, said it was totally unacceptable that an elderly patient in particular should have to wait 14 hours in an accident and emergency department for treatment, especially when it was the first priority of such departments to provide appropriate care for patients presenting with serious injury or illness.

He said the chief executive of the Eastern Regional Health Authority would be examining the case and giving him a full report. Mr Shatter said that the health service had "totally failed" the two women.

He asked if the Minister accepted that "for far too long junior doctors with limited experience have been left in charge of accident and emergency units for lengthy periods of time".

Mr Martin said the situation in the St James's case was also unacceptable and the emergency consultant involved in the case had issued an apology to the family.