Probe finds ‘failures’ at children’s hospital

A fitness to practise committee of the Irish Medical Council has expressed serious concern about surgical procedures at Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin after it claimed there was “significant evidence of systems failures, weaknesses and errors” at the hospital.

The IMC committee’s criticism was made as part of an inquiry which yesterday found one of the country’s top paediatric surgeons guilty on three counts of poor professional performance. The findings were made against Professor Martin Corbally, a former consultant surgeon at Our Lady’s Hospital, over his role in how the wrong operation was performed on a young girl in Apr 2010.

Prof Corbally, who is working at the King Hamad University Hospital in Bahrain, had denied four charges of poor professional performance. Last night he described himself as “disappointed” at the decision.