Risks still remain at the Midland Regional Hospital, Portlaoise, according to a review by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa).

The father of a baby who died in 2012 following failings at the Midlands Regional Hospital in Portlaoise has said it is a disgrace that families have had to drive improvements in services.

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime.

Gordon Elliott, enjoying a tremendous run, struck again when saddling a double with Moonmeister and Fort Smith in Downpatrick yesterday.

On the morning of January 24, 2012 Mark and Roisin Molloy’s son Mark passed away just moments after he was delivered at the Midland’s Regional Hospital.

Bereaved parents have accused the HSE of covering up warning signs in relation to baby deaths at Portlaoise Hospital.

With faith in the health service at “dangerously low” levels, the HSE director general, Tony O’Brien, must go, said Renua Ireland leader Lucinda Creighton.

EVER since the avoidable death of Savita Halappanavar, in October 2012 at University Hospital Galway, our maternity services have, for all the right and all the wrong reasons, been the subject of questioning, often outraged, attention.

HSE chief Tony O’Brien has refused to be drawn on whether people would be held to account following the publication of the report on child deaths in the Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise.

The mother of one of the babies who died at the Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise is glad the dead children will never be forgotten because of the role they played in helping to improve services.

We can only have confidence again in our maternity services by way of a wholly independent, root-and-branch evaluation followed by swift action to effect radical change, writes Victoria White

Virtually on the eve of the Cheltenham festival, where he hopes to have about fifteen runners, trainer Gordon Elliott doubled-up with favourites Akorakor and Alberta in Downpatrick yesterday.

TWO BABIES born late last year in Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe have died. Seven families in all have had their babies referred for “brain cooling” because of suspected “apoxia” — lack of oxygen to the brain — during their births at the hospital.

Parents hope he will be seen as ‘catalyst for change’ in HSE

Another baby has died at a Midlands hospital where the maternity service was recently condemned as neither safe nor sustainable.

OXYTOCIN. Women’s love drug. The drug associated with her sexual pleasure, with bringing on her labour and bringing down her breast milk.

A Midlands hospital where four newborns died in similar circumstances over a number of years has lost control of its maternity services after a damning report found it was neither safe nor sustainable.

The parents of one of the babies who died at the Midlands Regional Hospital in Portlaoise said it was unfortunate it had taken so long for action to be taken.

An especially distressing finding of the report was that highlighted by Dr Tony Holohan where dead babies were transported in the boot of a taxi to Tullamore hospital for postmortem.

Staff behaviour at the Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise fell well short of what would be reasonable from a patient safety point of view, according to the Department of Health’s chief medical officer, Dr Tony Holohan.

The Tom Busteed-trained Buster Dan Dan showed that he’s on a clear upward trajectory by landing the winners of one at the Stonehall Harriers point-to-point fixture outside Askeaton yesterday.

Patient Focus has welcomed Health Minister James Reilly’s remarks that he may ask health service watchdog Hiqa to review maternity services at Portlaoise Hospital.

Evanna McCutcheon has built up a tremendous rapport with her own horse Long Strand of late and the pair recorded their fifth success of the season in the open lightweight at the North Kerry Harriers point-to-point fixture outside Ballybunion on Saturday.

THE rescheduled Co Clare Hunt point-to-point took place at its traditional Belharbour venue in the Burren region of north Co Clare on Saturday and the Matthew Daly-trained newcomer Jimbill impressed by making a winning debut in the five-year-old geldings’ maiden.

UNIVERSITY of Limerick are sweating on the fitness of leading attacker Willie Ryan ahead oftomorrow’s Ulster Bank Fitzgibbon Cup semi-final against Waterford IT (Dangan, 2pm).

LIMERICK IT atoned for last year’s quarter-final exit against Waterford IT by accomplishing a victory yesterday afternoon that secures a safe passage through to the last eight of this year’s campaign.

THERE was probably a fair bit of excitement in a betting office in Clonmel last night, as the Tom Hogan-trained Spanish Blue won the first division of the Ryans’ Event Cleaners Handicap at Limerick.