Tony Holohan: Clear information was withheld from families

Medics must be made sign up to a nationwide “open disclosure” policy preventing any attempts to hide information from patients in light of the Midlands Regional Hospital scandal.

The Department of Health’s chief medical officer, Dr Tony Holohan, issued the plea in his detailed report into the facility.

Recommendations 11 and 12 of the document, which can be read at www.irishexaminer.com, state the long-awaited policy must be implemented to prevent a repeat of the scandal.

The department’s most senior medic said that, while Health Minister James Reilly has already suggested it will be in place by this summer, officials must ensure the vow is fully acted on.

“There were clear and un-acceptable failures to disclose to patients either that a serious adverse event had taken place or that reports had been completed into serious adverse incidents in their care.

“There is clear evidence available to us that information was available to the hospital to show they knew adverse events occurred and that this was withheld from the families concerned,” Dr Holohan said.

“There are two aspects of open disclosure that arose in preparing this report. First is the question of disclosure of the fact of harm, potential harm, or suspected harm as a result of an adverse event to a patients and/or family.

“The second is the question of disclosure of the fact that a person’s record/care has been reviewed but where no harm to the patient has arisen, or is likely to arise,” he wrote, adding: “The HSE national open disclosure policy should be implemented in full.”

As previously reported by the Irish Examiner, the national open disclosure policy flagged in the document has been repeatedly called for by patient groups and legal experts.

Among the reasons why are to ensure lessons are learned from tragic events, to guarantee patients receive information relevant to their concerns, and to lower potential legal case pay- outs by hospitals.

Meanwhile, the report into the Midlands Regional Hospital deaths has also called for new guidelines to be issued on the type of drugs used to induce births. Dr Holohan said the fresh advice is needed to prevent further tragedies.