There is no information that would warrant the exhumation of the second body at the centre of the Garda investigation into the activities of a nurse at Naas General Hospital, the coroner for Kildare has said.
Speaking at a sitting of the Coroner's Court in Naas yesterday, Prof Denis Cusack said he was adjourning until March the inquest into the death of Mr John Gethings, a patient at the hospital whose body was exhumed for post-mortem examination in July of this year.
This was because criminal proceedings in the case were being considered, he said.
Garda Insp Pat Mangan earlier told the court he was seeking an adjournment because the investigation into the death of Mr Gethings (77), Baltinglass, Co Wicklow, was ongoing, and a file was being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
A Garda spokesman yesterday confirmed that a female in her 30s had been detained in Naas on November 27th, but was released without charge.
The second investigation into the death of an unnamed person at the hospital is continuing, Insp Mangan added.
However, at this time, the possibility of exhuming the body of this second person was not being considered by gardaí. The inquest into this second case was also adjourned by Prof Cusack until March.
Mr Gethings had been a patient at Naas General Hospital, where he died on March 1st of this year. The Garda investigation began in July, shortly after the nurse was suspended following complaints from colleagues about the amount of medication she had allegedly given to a number of elderly patients. The home of the nurse was searched and a number of documents were seized, including some patient records which would ordinarily be kept in the hospital to protect patient confidentiality. While gardaí are investigating how she came to have the records in her home, they last night refused to comment on how this has progressed.
The nurse in question, who is Irish and worked for the Nurse on Call recruitment agency in Dublin, denies all allegations against her.
Outlining the complexity of the case involving Mr Gethings, Prof Cusack said the services of a specialist clinician had been engaged, and the result of a further toxicology examination was not expected until the New Year.
The South Western Health Board, which runs the hospital, is conducting an audit of 500 files at the hospital following the nurse's suspension.
However, a spokesman yesterday said the board was not in a position to comment on how the audit was progressing until the Garda investigation into the matter was complete.
Last night, Mr Thomas Gethings, a son of the late Mr John Gethings, said that while a result would have been welcome in September or October, given that it was now close to Christmas, he was "happy enough" to wait until March. "Once the truth comes out, I'm willing to wait."