Hospital inquiry sparked by ‘very concerning’ report

THE Health Information and Quality Authority has categorically stated it is carrying out an investigation into Mallow General Hospital on foot of very concerning information it received about patient care at the hospital.

Responding to the assertion that no formal complaint had been made, a spokeswoman for the independent health watchdog said whether or not a patient complaint had been made was not the issue.

But she said they had received confidential information about treatment a patient received in Mallow hospital which was “very concerning” and which it was obliged to investigate.

“The information indicated that the type of care provided to patients undergoing certain treatments in the hospital was not in line with the national recommendations made in the Ennis report, which highlighted the risks arising from low numbers of patients being treated for certain conditions and the clinical staffing cover possible in such hospitals.

“This raised concerns on the part of the authority about the range of treatment provided at the hospital. As a result of receiving this information, which was not a formal complaint, the authority sought assurances from the HSE about how patient care was provided in Mallow General Hospital.”

The spokeswoman said an investigation team has yet to be appointed, and that the investigation could take several months to complete, depending on what comes to light once the inquiry begins.

HIQA said that once the final report was made, everything would be put into the public domain.

Labour TD for Cork East Sean Sherlock, however, maintains the investigation is unnecessary.

“This is a duplication of effort of the part of HIQA and the HSE.

“If the HSE was already looking at issues within the hospital then why do we need to spend hundreds of thousands of euro in taxpayers’ money for HIQA to go in and look at the same issues.”

Mr Sherlock said he believed the inquiry could cost up to €150,000.

A spokeswoman for HIQA said she did not know how much the investigation would cost as it was not yet clear how long it would last for.