Other hospitals face safety probe after Mallow inquiry

MALLOW General Hospital is one of a number of hospitals where the Health Service Executive (HSE) has failed to prove to the health watchdog the services delivered to patients are safe.

A spokesperson for the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) said they had “concerns” for all small, standalone hospitals treating acute patients, after the HSE failed to show it had acted on a series of national recommendations contained in a report published 16 months ago.

The spokesperson said they had “constantly looked for information” from the HSE since publication of the report into Ennis General Hospital in April 2009, but “priority” issues identified in the report had not been addressed and timelines relating to specific actions had elapsed. Specifically, the HSE had failed:

* To prove it had undertaken a strategic review of configuration for emergency care services.

* To prove it had reviewed acute surgical activity and critical care provision in hospitals with a similar profile to Ennis General.

HIQA had recommended that where shortfalls were identified, appropriate action be taken to protect patients, but it is not satisfied the HSE has done so.

The decision to investigate Mallow General, and not other small, standalone hospitals, was triggered, the spokesperson said, on foot of complaints received. She said this “added to the concerns” HIQA already had about Mallow.

Prof Richard Greene, clinical director of the Cork University Hospital (CUH) group, which includes Mallow, said he was “not aware” of any specific cases where complaints had been made about Mallow General.

“If they are known to HIQA, they must be known to HIQA only,” he said.