Halappanavar family ‘has no faith in HSE’ investigation into death

The solicitor for Savita Halappanavar’s husband says the HSE must have no involvement in the inquiry into his wife’s death.

Speaking before three Galway University Hospital doctors were taken off the HSE’s probe in an attempt to instil confidence in the team, Gerard O’Donnell said his client Praveen was insistent the HSE could not be trusted.

The solicitor repeated the family’s insistence they will not take part in any inquiry unless a fully independent team is set up.

Mr O’Donnell said the HSE investigation would be barred from accessing Ms Halappanavar’s files — potentially making the HSE inquiry irrelevant before it has even begun.

“Any inquiry conducted by the HSE does not meet with his approval. He [Praveen] has no faith in the HSE,” he told RTÉ Radio’s Today with Pat Kenny programme.

“It’s important to remember that he lost his wife while under the care of the HSE.

“He feels anybody who is appointed by the HSE or paid for by the HSE to conduct an inquiry into his wife’s death won’t meet the criteria that we would advise him as lawyers of getting to the truth.”

Taoiseach Enda Kenny later told the Dáil the three GUH inquiry members have been removed, 24 hours after being appointed.

The decision was made in a bid to calm concerns from Ms Halappanavar’s family, and followed an appeal by inquiry chairman Sabaratnam Arulkumaran to meet “face to face” with Praveen to discuss his fears.

Should the Halappanavar family refuse to become involved, the HSE inquiry team will have no right to examine her medical records. They would also be blocked from speaking with family and friends, who have voiced concerns.

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties’ director, Mark Kelly, has backed the Halappanavars’ call for an entirely independent probe.

“The fact remains this is still not the independent inquiry which Praveen Halappanavar is entitled. Although headed by an external chair, this remains an internal HSE investigation into persons employed by the HSE.

“The HSE is completely at liberty to conduct an internal review of procedures. But an inquiry under the auspices of the HSE will not be sufficient to discharge the Government’s procedural obligation under the European Convention on Human Rights to carry out a fully independent effective inquiry.”

The HSE said it does not know when replacement inquiry appointments will be made. A spokesperson said the agency was taking the family’s concerns “extremely seriously”.

It said it opened the investigation into Ms Halappanavar’s death on Oct 28 on Wednesday — the day it was reported in the media. Praveen has said he does not believe an inquiry would have been opened if this did not take place.

Paper on limited abortion

The head of the HSE probe co-authored a research paper advocating limited abortion in nations with conservative laws.

Sabaratnam Arulkumaran wrote the paper with a colleague in 2009.

The research, Safer Childbirth: A Rights-Based Approach, highlighted the impact of the UN’s millennium development goals since 2000.

In section four, it read: “Termination of pregnancy is a sensitive issue in many parts of the world because of religious, cultural, social, and traditional beliefs.

“We would like to challenge and encourage societies and countries with restrictive abortion laws to look at the evidence available in favour of liberal abortions laws and debate the possibility of making the choice of termination of pregnancy a legal right for women.”

The authors added that “it is important to stress that wherever there is a liberal law on termination of pregnancy, the provision of safe and comprehensive abortion care is paramount to a successful reduction in maternal morbidity and mortality”.

Fiachra Ó Cionnaith