'Serious risks' to patients at Tallaght A&E

The management of patients requiring acute admission to Tallaght Hospital, and who receive initial care in the hospital’s A&E department, poses “a serious risk” to these patients, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has said.

Publishing the terms of reference for its investigation into the care provided for such patients at the Adelaide and Meath Hospital, incorporating the National Children’s Hospital (AMNCH), HIQA today said it “continues not to be assured that the hospital is effectively managing the risks to patients”.

HIQA said its statutory investigation, which was announced last Saturday, will seek to identify any serious risks to patients and to ascertain the safety and quality of care in place for patients requiring acute admission to the hospital, in particular those patients admitted through the Emergency Department.

Under eight terms of reference, the inquiry will assess the quality, safety and governance of, and accountability for, services provided to patients that present to the Emergency Department in the hospital. It will in particular focus on the patient journey from initial assessment, through admission to discharge.

The investigation team, which has yet to be named, will prepare a report which will be submitted to the board of HIQA and then published. The report will outline the investigation’s findings, conclusions and recommendations, if any.

The probe was instigated following concerns about patient care in the hospital’s emergency department.