Hospital inquiry into woman's death will take three years to complete, court hears

By Ann O'Loughlin

An inquiry into practices at the National Maternity Hospital (NMH) ordered by the Minister for Health in the wake of the death of a woman during surgery for an ectopic pregnancy could take three years to complete, the High Court has heard.

This would have a significant impact and demoralising effect on staff of the hospital which provides complex clinical care in high-risk pregnancies for patients all over the country, the court heard.

It was the Minister's failure to take into account this impact which rendered his decision to order the inquiry invalid because of a requirement that he take into account any disproportionate effect of such an inquiry, Paul Gallagher SC, for the NMH, told the court.

Mr Gallagher was opening the NMH's challenge to the Minister's decision to order the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) to conduct an inquiry under Section 9(2) of the 2007 Health Act into into patient safety issues including the practise of surgery being carried on outside core hours and the readiness of hospitals to respond to major emergencies in such circumstances.

It arose out of the death at the NMH of Malak Thawley (34) on May 8, 2016.

She died from exsanguination as a result of an accidental aortic injury on insertion of a trocar during the appropriate surgical management of a live ectopic pregnancy.

The Minister opposes the action and HIQA is a notice party.

Mr Gallagher told Mr Justice Charles Meenan if the HIQA probe goes ahead, it will be the fourth such inquiry.

The first was the hospital's own investigation which led to 19 recommendations, 18 of which have since been implemented with the last one outside the power of the hospital.

There was then a HSE review, known as the McKenna Report, which acknowledged that the hospital’s systems and analysis review not only complied with the requirement of national guidelines for such reviews but in a number of respects exceeded those requirements.

There was also a coroner's inquest which approved the recommendations of the NMH report.

Malak Thawley with her husband, Alan

Mr Gallagher said it was his client's case that the Minister also fettered his discretion on whether to hold an statutory inquiry by telling the widower of Mrs Thawley, Alan Thawley, that he would order a statutory inquiry if he was not satisfied with the HSE McKenna report.

The NMH was also saying the procedures adopted by the Department of Health made for "somewhat disturbing analysis", Mr Gallagher said.

The reasons given for the decision are wholly inconsistent with an internal document prepared for the Minister when he made a public statement announcing the inquiry, counsel said.

The reasons given did not meet the test for such an inquiry and the hospital had never been told why they met that test, he said.

The hearing continues.