Report is a ‘wake-up call’ to health service

Management at Tallaght Hospital said a report into its substandard care of emergency department patients was “a wake-up call” to the entire health service and exposed a dangerous lack of leadership within the hospital.

The damning report by the Health Information Quality Authority highlighted a series of errors which ultimately contributed to the death of Thomas Walsh, 65, from Kilnamanagh, Tallaght.

Speaking after the report was published, the chairman of the interim board of Tallaght Hospital, Keith Pearson, said everyone at the hospital accepted the findings of the report and said steps had been taken to ensure similar mistakes could not happen again.