Staffing problem which led to death persists, doctors warn

DOCTORS AT Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda have warned that a problem identified at the hospital following the death…

DOCTORS AT Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda have warned that a problem identified at the hospital following the death of a 34-year-old mother within hours of giving birth to twins nearly two years ago continues to persist.

In a letter to management on January 12th last, they say the level of on-call anaesthetic cover is the same now as it was when Tania McCabe died at the hospital in March 2007. One of her twins also died.

Pointing out that a report into her death commissioned by the HSE highlighted the fact that anaesthetic services at the hospital were significantly under-resourced and that the care provided by staff to Mrs McCabe was “compromised by their workload and the environment in which they were working” they wrote: “Unfortunately, almost two years after the death of Tania McCabe and her son, on four nights per week [Monday to Thursday] the on-call anaesthetic cover is exactly the same as it was on the night of their deaths, ie there is only one consultant anaesthetist and one anaesthetic NCHD [non- consultant hospital doctor] on call.”

They pointed out that the single NCHD when on call may be busy in a general theatre, labour ward, the paediatric unit, in ICU, or in the emergency department and be unable to attend one area when busy in another.

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“This is an extremely unsafe situation, not only for the patient, who is deprived of appropriate and timely management, but also for the anaesthetic NCHD, who has to bear an unacceptable workload and suffer the stress of being unable to meet multiple competing demands. In addition to this, the anaesthetic NCHD has to sleep in a chair or on the floor of the anaesthetic office because there is no suitable in-house on-call room,” their letter said.

The letter, written by consultant anaesthetists Carlos McDowell and Michael Staunton, and which has been seen by The Irish Times, points out that Judge Maureen Harding Clark in the Lourdes Hospital Inquiry report also said the number of anaesthetic staff had to rise significantly.

“We realise that the current financial situation is very difficult and that the HSE wishes to minimise expenditure on NCHD overtime. However, we believe that there is a compelling need for two anaesthetic NCHDs to be on call in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital every night,” their letter said.

Asked to comment on their concerns, the HSE said they would be addressed in a review of anaesthetic services in the northeast, commissioned prior to Christmas. It is being conducted by Teamwork consultants. “The letter referred to has been forwarded to the review team and a number of meetings/workshops have already taken place which have included the consultants in anaesthesia in both the Louth/Meath and Cavan/Monaghan hospital groups,” the HSE said.

A verdict of medical misadventure was returned at Louth Coroner’s Court last month into the death of Mrs McCabe. The coroner, Ronan Maguire, urged the HSE and the hospital to implement the recommendations of the independent report into her death urgently.