Mother: New standards could have saved my son

A patient advocate whose son died because of a series of misdiagnoses, lost opportunities, and inappropriate care has welcomed new national healthcare standards unveiled yesterday.

Margaret Murphy’s 21-year-old son Kevin, who died in 1999, was suffering from hypercalcemia (too much calcium in the blood), a condition that is treatable in the early stages.

He died in Cork University Hospital but had been treated in the Mercy Hospital where the errors occurred.