THERE WERE sharp exchanges between a solicitor and the coroner at an inquest yesterday concerning a woman who died after a routine hospital operation.
The woman who had a 15 minute surgical procedure at a private Dublin hospital was readmitted in severe pain later that evening and died three days later, the inquest has heard.
Mary Walsh (56) of Firhouse, Dublin, underwent a surgical procedure on her bladder to correct a problem with frequent passing of urine at Mount Carmel Hospital on the morning of December 5th, 2008.
The Dublin County Coroner Dr Kieran Geraghty adjourned the inquest to a date in September to allow solicitor for the Walsh family, Damien Tansey time to consider statements related to the inquiry, which he received yesterday.
Dr Geraghty told Mr Tansey that he had rarely had an inquest with such a level of aggression and that he considered that Mr Tansey had been disrespectful to “this court.”
Mr Tansey said he never witnessed an inquest conducted in such an “insensitive manner”.
Earlier the inquest had heard the medical procedure, a cystoscopy, to correct a problem with frequent passing of urine, was uneventful and the fit and healthy woman was discharged to the recovery room at approximately 9.20am where she received medication for pain.
By the time she was discharged to the day ward an hour later she had no pain.
An inquest into her death at Dublin County Coroner’s Court yesterday heard that Ms Walsh went home later that day and sent a text message to her partner Francis Flood at 6.30pm indicating that she was in severe pain.
She was admitted to Mount Carmel at 10.00pm reporting a pain score of 10 out of 10 and told nurse Catherine O’Halloran that she began experiencing pain a half an hour after her discharge.
Ms Walsh experienced high levels of pain for a number of hours on the night of December 5th for which she received medication, her lower abdomen was noted to be swollen and bruised looking and she was seen by the medical registrar on a number of occasions.
Consultant Ted McDermott was contacted on two occasions by phone with regard to Ms Walsh’s condition.
Mr McDermott saw the patient in person at 3am and prescribed antibiotics and intravenous morphine.
Nurse O’Halloran said Mr McDermott considered the possibility of perforation.
By 4am Ms Walsh’s pain was under control and at 8am, her condition was comfortable.
“She was feeling much better and she thanked us,” said nurse O’Halloran.
Nurse Deirdre Moran discovered Ms Walsh curled up in a semi-foetal position in bed an hour and a half later when she went to take a blood sample.
She was pale, very cold and clammy with a weak pulse and was difficult to rouse, Nurse Moran told the court.
Her pulse was so low and she was so cold it was difficult to obtain a blood sample, she said.
Nurse Moran raised the alarm and Ms Walsh was brought immediately to the high dependency unit. She was transferred to Tallaght Hospital on December 7th where she died the following day.
The inquest did not hear evidence of the cause of death.
The coroner Dr Kieran Geraghty adjourned the inquest to a date in September to allow solicitor for the Walsh family, Damien Tansey time to consider statements related to the inquiry.
Dr Geraghty told Mr Tansey that he had rarely had an inquest with such a level of aggression and that he considered that Mr Tansey had been disrespectful to “this court.”