THE SISTER of a teenage girl who died 17 years ago following a history of neglect at the hands of her parents, claimed yesterday her life had been put at risk by a decision to discharge her from Mayo General Hospital in Castlebar.
Geraldine Fitzgerald (30), sister of the late Kelly Fitzgerald (15) is confined to a wheelchair because of spine problems. She says she is plagued by ill-health with lung, bowel and other problems and cannot sleep without tablets and was not fit to be discharged from the hospital on Tuesday.
She said yesterday: “I was starved and beaten and abused for years by my parents. Now I have been failed once again by the system.” However, the Health Service Executive (HSE) has rejected Ms Fitzgerald’s claims that her life is in danger and has defended its decision to ask her to leave the hospital.
In a statement, the HSE stated: “While we do not generally comment on individual cases, the practice at Mayo General Hospital is that patients are expected to leave hospital once deemed clinically fit for discharge.
“A number of consultants from different specialities have reviewed the case and a decision to discharge was made on their recommendations,” the HSE spokeswoman said.
Geraldine Fitzgerald was 12 years old when her sister, Kelly, died. The girls had been living in east Mayo at the time, after their parents, Des and Sue, moved the family to Ireland.
Lambeth Health Authority in London had become so concerned about the girls that they placed them on their high-risk register. An emaciated Kelly was brought to London by her father and was admitted to hospital where she died two days later from blood poisoning. Specialists at the hospital were shocked by the bruising and marks on her body.
In the wake of Kelly’s death in 1993 social workers with the Western Health Board parted her from her parents. Sue and Des Fitzgerald served 18 months in prison for the wilful neglect of Kelly.