A report into the stabbing of a patient on a psychiatric ward has not been completed due to privacy issues relating to the perpetrator’s medical records.
James McGrane (73) was left paralysed after he was stabbed in the neck area by a fellow patient at a Health Service Executive-run psychiatric facility on the grounds of Tallaght hospital on May 11th, 2010.
The man arrested in the wake of the attack, known as Patient A, was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.
Mr McGrane, of College Park, Terenure, Dublin, was left in a paraplegic state with limited movement in his arms and no feeling in his legs after his spine was severed in the attack.
At a resumed inquest hearing, Dublin Coroner’s Court heard of privacy concerns in relation to Patient A’s medical records.
Solicitor Kevin Power, representing St Loman’s Mental Health Services, said: “The hospital has requested, if you are minded, to share those records with other parties. Patient A should be asked to give a view on that given that they are ultimately Patient A’s records.”
Following a previous inquest hearing last October, coroner Dr Brian Farrell requested the medical records for his own perusal to determine if they were relevant to the inquest.
The court heard a final report into the stabbing incident remained in “draft, incomplete form” due to the issues surrounding Patient A’s records.
“They are very concerned about Patient A’s records being provided to other parties,” Mr Power said.