Guidelines to stop repeat of Halappanavar death

Four new national clinical guidelines are being drawn up following the death of Savita Halappanavar in a Galway hospital last year.

James Reilly, the health minister, has asked for the clinical guidelines to be immediately commissioned and quality-assured though the National Clinical Effectiveness Committee.

An early warning score guideline for maternity and paediatric units will be drawn up, as well as sepsis management and clinical handover guidelines.

Dr Reilly said the clinical handover guideline was crucial to ensure that important information was not missed or not passed on when there was a change of medical teams.

“I expect these guidelines to not only detail best practice but also to make recommendations for staff education and training,” he said.

He said the tragic death of Mrs Halappanavar, who died at University Hospital Galway after she developed an infection following a miscarriage, brought into very sharp focus the need for greater uniformity of clinical protocols around the care of patients generally.

“There were so many things that went wrong during the course of Savita Halappanavar’s treatment and so many points of action that would have resulted in a different outcome,” said Dr Reilly when he launched new clinical guidelines to prevent the spread of a potential killer hospital bug.

He said the measures, that include isolating patients infected with MRSA and making sure staff wash their hands, would help save lives and cut costs in the healthcare system.

He said while rates of MRSA have halved since 2006, there is still a long way to go.

“We must continue to systematically address the prevalence of MRSA in Ireland. This guideline is a significant step.”

MRSA is a strain of bacteria that has become resistant to antibiotics and which can cause severe infections. It can be fatal in cases of septicaemia and pneumonia.

The rate of infection in Ireland has fallen from 42% in 2006 to 22% last year.

The second national clinical guideline — Prevention and Control Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) — was backed by the National Clinical Effectiveness Committee and endorsed by the minister.

Professor Hilary Humphreys, head of the committee’s MRSA Guideline Development Group, said the guideline built on recommendations launched in 2005 and was more comprehensive.

The new guidelines — developed for all healthcare staff — follow criticisms by the health watchdog, Hiqa which raised concerns about hand hygiene practices among medical staff in hospitals.