Board to probe surgery concerns at hospital

CONCERNS over surgical procedures carried out at a general hospital are being investigated by the local health board.

The investigation at Cavan General Hospital by the North Eastern Health Board (NEHB) is part of their risk management process in place in all hospitals under their remit.

The board said the concerns related to a number of surgical procedures but declined to say whether the review involved looking at the deaths of patients.

The health board said it had no reason to believe patient care was being compromised at the hospital.

The board said one doctor has raised some concerns and it is understood the board is looking at five procedures at the hospital.

“There is an incident reporting policy in the hospital and a number of reports, including a number relating to the hospital’s surgical unit, are being reviewed in line with risk management practices,” a health board spokesperson said yesterday.

Health board management have a responsibility to ensure safe systems of care are in place in all their acute hospitals.

“In the interest of patient safety, the North Eastern Health Board has in place a clinical risk management system across all our hospitals. As part of this process a formal system of incident reporting is in place,” she said.

Under the system all hospital staff members are obliged to report all adverse incidents, accidents, near misses, hazards or complaints, which are then reviewed by a designated risk management officer.