The Health Service Executive has begun investigations into the deaths of two patients at psychiatric units in Dublin and Kerry.
There would be “immediate and comprehensive reviews” into the circumstances of the “tragic” and “unconnected” deaths earlier this week, the executive said in a statement last night.
A patient died at the HSE’s acute mental health unit on the grounds of Tallaght hospital in south Dublin, the HSE said.
“As in all such incidents, a review will be carried out in accordance with HSE policy,” it said.
The HSE South confirmed yesterday that a patient of the mental health unit at Kerry General Hospital in Tralee had died, apparently by suicide.
“The HSE South is in contact with the patient’s family, the gardaí and the Mental Health Commission and will co-operate with any investigations that are deemed necessary,” it said.
The HSE was carrying out its own internal review of the circumstances of the patient’s death, it said.