Cork hospital still to finish review of assault that lead to Matthew Healy's death

Matthew Healy died on January 22, 2023, after an incident in a six-person ward of the Mercy University Hospital.

An internal review into the fatal assault of an 89-year-old man in a Cork City hospital ward remains uncompleted.

Matthew Healy, 89, a retired farmer from Berrings, Co Cork, died on January 22, 2023, after an incident in a six-person ward of the Mercy University Hospital. A man has been charged with his murder.

The hospital launched a review of procedures after Mr Healy was fatally injured in a general ward.

The review was being carried out by a team of experts, adhering to the guidelines laid out in the Health Service Executive’s Incident Management Framework.

Under that framework, such reviews should be completed within 125 days of the incident, but with more complex cases the completion date can be pushed back.

It was agreed the date for completion of the report would be August 9 last year, but in October, a spokesman for the hospital told the Irish Examiner that “the chief executive has not had the output from the review yet.” 

Now, it has been confirmed that the review has not been completed, with a spokesman for the South/Southwest Hospital Group telling the Irish Examiner: "That review is ongoing."

When asked when it is due to be completed, he said: "They don't set a time period for completion of these types of investigations."

According to the HSE's own framework for such investigations: “To assist with a responsive and timely approach to review and with building a culture of safety, reviews should be completed within the shortest possible timeframe.

"For concise and comprehensive reviews, this should not exceed 125 days from the time of occurrence of the incident. It is however accepted that in some circumstances this timeframe will not be achievable.” 

Reviews can be paused or adjourned before being continued again.

At the opening of an inquest into Mr Healy’s death in September, the hospital was not in a position to give an update on its review.

The inquest was told he suffered traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries linked to blunt force trauma in the incident in Room 2 of St Joseph’s ward at Mercy University Hospital.

In the aftermath, counselling services were provided to patients and staff affected. Patients who saw the incident were subsequently moved to another ward.