HSE knew of hospital problems before baby deaths

Senior ministers and HSE chiefs were aware of major problems at the Portlaoise Hospital maternity unit prior to a spate of baby deaths, official letters have revealed.

As Health Minister James Reilly said he was open to an independent inquiry into how four babies died at the hospital, during labour or shortly afterwards, demands for the HSE to come clean on the controversy intensified.

Ministerial letters reveal midwifery staff at the Midland Regional Hospital wrote to the then finance minister and local TD Brian Cowen in Sept 2006, expressing “a real fear” that a mother or baby would die in their care due to problems at the facility.

The correspondence also revealed that staff had made their concerns known to management on several occasions, but nothing had changed.

Mr Cowen wrote to then health minister Mary Harney about the letter from midwives, and correspondence continued and another letter from staff alarmed at “third world” conditions at the hospital was sent to the then finance minister in June 2007.

The controversy erupted following an RTÉ Prime Time probe into the circumstances of how four babies died over a six-year period after the letter from staff was sent to ministers.

The HSE has apologised “unequivocally” to the families and a review of the maternity unit at the hospital is under way.

Last night, a HSE spokeswoman said: “The HSE and the hospital accept that there were serious shortcomings in these cases. There were unacceptable delays in completing reports, communicating with families, and in acting on recommendations. The HSE and the hospital apologises unequivocally to the families for these failings.”

National Epidemiology Centre director Richard Greene expressed concern the parents had not been informed the deaths were being investigated.

“Some of these deaths could possibly have been avoided,” Prof Greene told RTÉ.