HIQA agrees to carry out Savita inquiry

Nov 23, 2012

Niall Hunter, Editor

Niall Hunter, Editor





The independent safety body HIQA has agreed with the HSE's request for it to undertake a statutory investigation into issues relating to the maternal death of Savita Halappanavar.

HIQA has conformed it it will investigate 'the safety, quality and standards of services provided by the HSE at University Hospital Galway (UHG) to critically-ill patients, including critically-ill pregnant women as reflected in the care and treatment provided to Savita Halappanavar'.

It said its investigation will assess whether the services provided complied with its National Standards for Safer Better Healthcare and national and international evidence of what is known to achieve best outcomes.

It said it had requested, and received, information from Galway University Hospital and the HSE to ascertain the facts about the tragic case of Savita Halappanavar.

"Following consideration of this information, the Board of the Authority has made the decision to instigate this investigation. The terms of reference and membership of the investigation team will be published when finalised," HIQA said.

HIQA said it did not not envisage making any further public comment until its investigation has concluded. The investigation report, and its recommendations, would be published following the completion of the investigation.

It is believed that the HIQA probe, which will involve the appointment an independent panel of experts, will take a number of months to complete. Witnesses are statutorily bound to cooperate with HIQA inquiries, which are conducted in private.

The terms of reference for the HIQA probe are expected to be announced early next week.

HIQA has already been in contact with Praveen Halappanavar and it is expected this communication will continue.

Meanwhile, the much-criticised HSE inquiry into Savita's death is proceeding, with the HSE now calling it a 'clinical review'. The Halappanavar family has said it is not cooperating with this review.

The HSE has said it had been advised that the Savita Halappanavar's medical records in the case are its property, and they have already been made available to its clinical review.

The health executive and the Department of Health have denied that there will be any logistical difficulties in having two parallel reviews taking place. It has also been denied that the HSE's decision to call in HIQA, after a week of controversy about the structure of its own probe, represented a 'u-turn.'

Health Minister James Reilly said the HSE review is moving ahead apace and the information gathered can be supplied to the HIQA probe.

The HIQA inquiry's remit appears to be broader than that of the HSE probe, covering not just critically-ill maternity patients, but critically-ill patients in general at the Galway hospital. The HSE probe is concentrating more on the circumstances surrounding Savita's death, contributory and causal factors relating to it and actions to be taken that would aim to ensure there is no repeat of the incident.

Health Minister James Reilly held a private meeting in Galway today with Mr Halappanavar and his solicitor Gerard O'Donnell.

Dr Reilly expressed his condolences and said he would reflect on the family's concerns. Mr O'Donnell said the meeting was appreciated, but his client was insisting on a full, sworn public inquiry.

Mr O'Donnell said earlier today that while his client had no reservations about HIQA and the work it dids, its inquiry was unlikely to be be sufficient, and there was a need for a public inquiry which would call witnesses to give evidence under oath.

He has indicated that his client is is prepared to go to the European Court of Human Rights to seek redress if an independent public inquiry is not set up into his wife's death.

Mr O'Donnell told RTE Radio that article two of the convention on human rights dealt with the preservation of life, but flowing from that are procedural aspects in terms of investigation.

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) said it had doubts that a HIQA probe would meet requirements listed under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Ms Halappanavar died on October 28 in the Galway hospital following a miscarriage, having reportedly been repeatedly refused a termination.

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