Health chiefs in the West have been urged to publish the maternity care review of cases at Portiuncula Hospital.
The publication of the review, ordered by Saolta University Health Care Group some 18 months ago, has been delayed a number of times.
Saolta said it is working to progress the review into 18 cases but did not indicate when it would be in a position to publish.
The report into the safety of babies was categorised as urgent and the delays have been described as “unacceptable” by Roscommon/Galway TD, Denis Naughten.
“It is unacceptable that the review has dragged on and on,” said Deputy Naughten.
The Independent TD said that it was the staff of Portiuncula who brought concerns to management about the need for a review.
“The review should have included the role played by management of Saolta but of course the people ordering the review – Saolta – aren’t going to include themselves in it, are they? I’d have a concern about that,” he said.
Deputy Naughten said it was right that the families involved should see the report, and be allowed input into it.
“It is very important for the families involved, and for the public, to find out exactly what happened. My big fear is that the review is being used as a stick to beat the hospital with and to run down the maternity services in Portiuncula and that cannot be allowed to happen,” he added.
The families need answers and closure on this, he said, and the review should be published as soon as it is ready so that the hospital can learn form any mistakes.
The review was instigated last March after two babies died during childbirth in February and November of 2014.
During that period, a number of babies also suffered from oxygen deprivation during birth.
The review, by James Walker, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at Leeds University, was supposed to take five months.
It was extended then when new cases emerged.
Saolta, in December, apologised for the delays and said it regretted the distress caused to the families.
In a statement issued this week it said: “A process is underway to provide each of the families concerned in the Review of Maternity Services at Portiuncula Hospital with the draft chronology detailing the individual timeline of the events relating to their case to check for accuracy and provide feedback in advance of the completion of the Review.
“In a small number of cases this process has been delayed and we are working to progress this. Due to the unavailability of the assigned investigators to complete their reviews, two new investigators have been assigned to one family.
The Saolta University Health Care Group is communicating directly with the families in relation to the progress of the Review and will not be commenting publicly on any individual case.”
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