Baby Scandals: Staff at Cavan General had highlighted risks

Doctors and nurses repeatedly highlighted the risk to patients posed by theatre staff shortages at Cavan General Hospital where four babies died in the last two-and-a-half years, including a newborn earlier this week.

While the circumstances surrounding the latest death are unclear, there have been longstanding difficulties staffing a second theatre out-of-hours.

Just last week, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) wrote to hospital managers warning there had been “at least four occasions” in as many weeks when the on-call team was already manning one theatre and a need arose to open a second involving patients who were either obstetric or surgical emergencies.