Amid calls for an independent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of a nine-year-old girl two weeks after she underwent routine surgery at Cavan General Hospital, the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, said last evening he had been assured by the North Eastern Health Board that the hospital was "safe".
It has emerged that the health board is examining 14 adverse incidents which occurred at the hospital since last summer. Up to five of these are understood to relate to patient deaths about which families have raised concerns. Others refer to a range of incidents, including the alleged perforation of a patient's womb and bowel during routine surgery.
It is not yet known if the death of Frances Sheridan from Cootehill is connected with her treatment at Cavan Hospital as post- mortem results from the State Pathologist's office are awaited.
She was recovering at home from her operation last Friday when she had stomach pains and was taken back to the hospital A&E unit. However, she was sent home after her family was told she probably only had a stomach bug. On Sunday she again awoke with pains and was vomiting blood, and her parents called an ambulance. She died before it arrived.
Her funeral Mass is in Cootehill today.
Mr Martin met the chief executive of the North Eastern Health Board (NEHB) in Dublin yesterday for over an hour. Afterwards he told reporters: "The health board today indicated to us that the risk manager operating on behalf of the NEHB has been assessing the complaints that were made, and the board has assured us that it is safe now."
He said he was aware of rumours in relation to the hospital, but he advised caution in commenting on them. "You have to be very careful what we say here because individuals who are working now in the hospital are entitled to their good name and reputation as professionals. Inquiries are under way, and we can't simply become judge and jury overnight in terms of any incident," he said. He added that the situation in Cavan was "relatively volatile" since two consultant surgeons were suspended over interpersonal difficulties last August. Since then the hospital's third full-time surgeon has had to go on sick leave.
Labour's health spokeswoman, Ms Liz McManus, called for an independent inquiry into Frances Sheridan's death. "A local inquiry initiated by the NEHB is an insufficient response in the circumstances. Experience tells us this was evident in the shortcomings of the health board report carried out in the Bronagh Livingstone case," she said.
Asked if he would set up an independent inquiry, Mr Martin said the health board had initiated an inquiry and he would await the its outcome and the results of the post-mortem examination. He acknowledged that events in Cavan did give rise to concern and said issues had been "bubbling under the surface in the Cavan area for some time following the suspension of the two doctors".
Earlier the health board's CEO, Mr Paul Robinson, stressed that all consultant staff in Cavan Hospital had been properly appointed. "We do have a number of locum staff there. All of these have been properly appointed, all of these are locums who have been practising in this country for a number of years, and we would have no worries about their competence or anything like that," he said.
Asked on RTÉ's Morning Ireland about the adverse incidents which had been reported, he said he was not sure how many deaths were being investigated. "Off hand I'm not sure. I know that there are two at least, but there may be some others," he replied.
He said the suspension of the two surgeons had not affected the hospital's ability to provide adequate services. "We have employed two locum surgeons to replace them from the day that they were suspended.
"I suppose there is always a difficulty in a situation like this because the period of suspension is indefinite so that the locums t we are attracting are short-term. If they can get an appointment which is longer-term, for a year or longer where you have a definite vacancy, they are likely to accept that," he said.
GPs have expressed concern about the lack of continuity that has resulted. A Kilnaleck GP, Dr Jimmy Fay, said: "It's like if you are going to a different GP every two or three weeks. It is not ideal." He said some patients were beginning to feel ill-at-ease about going to the hospital.
A Monaghan GP, Dr Illona Duffy, said doctors were referring patients to hospitals as far away as Sligo because of concerns. "This was the hospital Monaghan doctors were told to refer to when Monaghan Hospital was taken off call, but it was falling apart at the seams all along," she said.