Savita report - Action must come now

The devastating Hiqa report relating to the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar at University Hospital Galway makes frightening reading. Not only does it highlight a series of missed opportunities which, if acted upon, might have saved her life, it also portrays an alarming crisis at Ireland’s 19 public maternity hospitals.

In a damning finding, it puts the spotlight on wide variations in clinical care in those hospitals. So appalling is the lack of basic standards, the Government must act immediately to establish a centralised approach to such crucial issues as reporting maternal morbidity and mortality. A nationally agreed definition and consistent recording of maternal sepsis are also urgently needed.

Let’s hope doctors, consultants, and hospital managers will learn the lessons of Savita’s untimely death. The failure to provide her with the most basic elements of care was utterly indefensible and will cast a long shadow over the quality of maternity practices in Ireland.