No action on 2006 report for Portlaoise maternity hospital

A report published eight years ago about the future of our maternity services recommended that the midlands hospital at the centre of four controversial baby deaths be brought within the governance of the Coombe — but this was not acted upon at the time.

It has now re-emerged as a key recommendation in the recent Department of Health report examining four infant deaths at Portlaoise Midland Regional Hospital between 2006- 2012. The department report found errors in care leading up to the deaths, including failure to recognise foetal distress. The HSE has confirmed that two more baby deaths at the hospital are under investigation since the report was published.

A report by the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, published in 2006, made a number of recommendations strikingly similar to those being made by the Department of Health.