Hospital death - Family should have been given report

IT is a matter of serious concern that some of the preliminary findings into the untimely and premature death of Patrick Walsh, because of serious process failures at several levels, were made public before his family was apprised of its contents.

The late Mr Walsh bled to death at Monaghan General Hospital when doctors failed in their bid to have him transferred to two other hospitals in the region for emergency surgery.

The death of Mr Walsh was preventable, a fact which was acknowledged by Tánaiste and Health Minister Mary Harney in the Dáil.