PATIENTS WHOSE files were discovered in landfill near Glounthaune in Cork last Tuesday will be informed of what happened by the Health Service Executive (HSE) “within weeks” it emerged yesterday.
The discovery of around 100 files dating back to the 1970s regarding patients who attended Cork Regional Hospital and St Finbarr’s Hospital was made during excavation works for the new Cork to Midleton railway line.
The HSE says the site has been fully secured and a perimeter fence has been erected around the area.
It has apologised for the distress that the discovery has caused to former patients of the hospitals.
Many of the records retrieved to date are in poor condition and quite decomposed. However, once the number and type of files have been established, the HSE will contact the patients concerned.
The executive plans to remove the files and transfer them to a secure location in Waterford.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Parents for Justice, a support group for families affected by the organ retention scandal, has expressed concern that some of the files may relate to the relatives of members of their group.
Charlotte Yeates said the confidential files discovered in the Cork landfill bear dates which correspond with the period when pituitary glands were being removed from deceased children without their parents’ consent.
“What we have had over the last 24 hours is a number of calls from some of our members who were previously told that their files had gone missing.
“We have advised them to contact the hospitals again. Maybe this is why [the parents] haven’t been able to get information – because their files could well be in landfill.”
Members of the public who have concerns about the files can contact the HSE on 1850-742000.