HSE urged to speed up nursing home death probe

MORE than eight months after an elderly woman suffocated while strapped to a chair in a north Cork nursing home, two suspended nurses have still not been interviewed by the Health Service Executive (HSE) over the incident and the HSE has not completed its investigation.

The two nurses, as well as a care worker, were suspended on full pay after Hannah Comber suffocated after becoming entangled in straps binding her to a special chair at Heatherside Hospital near Buttevant, Co Cork, on June 22.

The 65 year-old had been a resident there for 15 years.

It emerged in the weeks following Ms Comber’s death that the report from the hospital given to gardaí failed to mention that she had accidentally slipped in the chair while strapped in.

It was not until a post mortem took place that it was revealed she died as a result of asphyxiation from a ligature on the chair.

The garda investigation into the matter yielded a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions, but that office subsequently decided not to pursue the case.

The Irish Nurses’ Organisation yesterday called for the investigation to be carried out more speedily so that its members could be returned to work.

A HSE statement it said interviews with staff are “ongoing”.

The investigation is being led by Pat Gaughan, former chief officer of the Midlands Health Board with 29 years of experience in health service management.