An investigation into the treatment provided by the Health Service Executive to a woman suffering from multiple sclerosis who died in a severely malnourished condition has been completed, writes Fiona Gartland
Evelyn Joel (58), from Enniscorthy, died six days after she was admitted to Wexford General Hospital on January 1st this year.
Her daughter, Eleanor, who had been caring for her, said that her mother had refused to eat after her partner died in mid-December. She called the doctor on New Year's Day and an ambulance brought her mother to hospital.
The HSE set up the three-person independent investigation committee within a week of Mrs Joel's death.
It is chaired by Dr Joe Duggan, consultant geriatrician at the Mater Hospital in Dublin. The other two members are Tom O'Dwyer, former programme manager and deputy chief executive of the Southern Health Board, and Marie Faughey, Kildare/West Wicklow Local Health Office child care manager and former director of public health nursing in the eastern region.
The committee was asked to review the scope, range and level of services provided by the HSE to Mrs Joel between January 2004 and January 2006 for her medical condition and circumstances. It was to review the delivery and co-ordination of these services to her and to review existing protocols and procedures in service delivery.
It was also asked to make any recommendations necessary.
In a statement yesterday, the HSE said that the committee had completed its investigation after a very extensive review and was in the process of preparing its report. "This will be completed as soon as possible in keeping with the investigation committee's terms of reference," the statement said. "The HSE . . . has provided the committee with access to all files, records and expertise as required."
A separate Garda investigation into the circumstances of the death of Mrs Joel was completed in March and an extensive file on the case was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Four weeks after the death, gardaí arrested two people for questioning, both of them known to Mrs Joel.
They were released without charge after being questioned at Enniscorthy Garda station on January 30th. The replies they furnished to gardaí form part of the file sent to the DPP. It remains unclear if any criminal charges will be pursued in the case.
Commenting in the aftermath of the news of Mrs Joel's death, Minister for Health Mary Harney said that it was a case of "appalling neglect".