HIQA inspectors never visited Roscommon hospital, HSE admits

The HSE has confirmed that HIQA inspectors have never visited Roscommon County Hospital, which was downgraded this week.

The Government has maintained that the decision to close the Accident and Emergency Department at Roscommon was made because HIQA had deemed it to be unsafe.

HIQA has confirmed it never conducted a stand-alone report on Roscommon, but made its findings from the appendix on the report into Mallow Hospital.

Meanwhile, the figures on the mortality rate at Roscommon are also being disputed.

Health Minister Dr James Reilly quoted a mortality rate of 21% to back up HIQA's assertion that the hospital was unsafe.

However, Dr Pat McHugh, who established the cardiac care unit at Roscommon in the 1970s, claims that the figure is not correct.

"There's scaremongering going on out there that we have been unsafe," said Dr McHugh.

"I've been deeply hurt by the Minister's revelations that there was a 21% mortality in cardiac patients in Roscommon County Hospital - the actual figure is 5%. It's as good as anywhere else."