The Kildare coroner's court has adjourned until next month the inquest into the death of a man whose body was exhumed last summer as part of an investigation into the alleged activities of a nurse at Naas General Hospital.
At a sitting of the court yesterday, Garda Insp Pat Mangan of Naas Garda Station said an investigation was continuing into the death of Mr John Gethings (77), Baltinglass, Co Wicklow, at the hospital in March 2003.
The Garda Press Office said a file on the investigation into the two deaths should be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions within two or three weeks.
Mr Gethings's body was exhumed for post-mortem examination last July after gardaí received a report from the South Western Area Health Board, which runs the hospital.
This followed complaints from colleagues in relation to the amount of medication the nurse had allegedly given to patients. The nurse in question, who is in her 30s, has been suspended from duty. Insp Mangan told the court that gardaí were also continuing to investigate the case of a second, unnamed patient, who died at the hospital last May but whose body has not been exhumed.
The inspector agreed to a request by the Kildare coroner, Prof Denis Cusack, for gardaí to keep the court informed of developments so that the inquests could be listed as appropriate.
