The parents of an eight-year-old girl who died in the Mercy Hospital in Cork told a Circuit Court judge yesterday that they wished to highlight the case to prevent "further deaths".
Mr Michael and Ms Marie O'Sullivan of Midleton, Co Cork brought the case for negligence or breach of duty against a doctor, the hospital and the Southern Health Board, but emphasised they were not doing so for monetary gain.
In a statement read to the court, they said: "We did not bring this case for money. We have no interest in money. The sum is paltry. We are solely interested in highlighting the problems that have arisen with a view to ensuring that no other child has to die." They were unhappy that their daughter's case should be settled.
Lisa, the second eldest of their three daughters, developed gastroenteritis on October 14th 1995, apparently from an undercooked hamburger.
"She was monitored by our general practitioner over the succeeding days until it became apparent that she required hospital admission on October 22nd." The GP wanted her to be admitted to Cork
University Hospital "having regard to the paediatric services available there". The GP telephoned that hospital "in the early hours of October 22nd, to be informed by a night superintendent that the appropriate place for Lisa to be admitted was the Mercy Hospital. We then took Lisa to the Mercy Hospital.
"On arrival there, we were met by a very young doctor who we know now was just qualified. This doctor did not realise how seriously ill Lisa was. There was no consultant on duty at the Mercy Hospital. There was no registrar on duty at the Mercy Hospital. We now know that the Mercy Hospital on that weekend, and indeed at other times, is covered in such situations by a consultant who is based at Cork University Hospital who must not alone cover Cork University Hospital but also covers for the Mercy Hospital. The junior doctor . . . failed to contact the consultant.
"Some hours later, when the consultant was in the hospital treating another ill child, the junior doctor showed the results of some blood tests that had come through to the consultant. The consultant immediately realised how ill our daughter was and set about trying to treat her. It was, however, at that stage too late and our daughter died at 8 p.m. on the very day she was admitted."
In their statement the O'Sullivans said their solicitor had learned from discovery of documents that the problem which had faced Lisa was not unique - and "a senior paediatric consultant has written on a number of occasions to the Southern Health Board, Cork University Hospital and the Mercy Hospital indicating that the fragmentation of paediatric services in this manner is a major problem.
"We were unaware of this background when we brought Lisa to the Mercy Hospital. We would never have brought Lisa to the Mercy Hospital if we had not been directed there by Cork University Hospital. Cork University Hospital well knew that there was inappropriate level of paediatric cover at the Mercy Hospital.
"The consultant who treated our daughter before she died, commenting on the conditions in the Mercy Hospital, indicated `the ward was crowded with visitors and the conditions for intensive care were unsatisfactory. The available monitoring equipment was completely inadequate.'
"Our general practitioner advised where the child should be brought, but she was overruled by a night superintendent, whom we understand is not even a doctor.
"It is quite clear proper resources are not provided to both hospitals to enable a proper level of consultant staff and equipment to be provided. If this was done, our daughter would have survived."
Mrs Marie O'Sullivan said they wished to highlight the case and were not taking their court action for the money. Mr Don McCarthy BL, for the Mercy Hospital, said they had offered to pay £12,827 (the maximum amount in a civil liability action for mental distress for the loss of a child) and which included funeral costs. But there was no admission of liability.
Mr Michael O'Sullivan, said he was not happy that the case was being settled in this fashion but the legal advice was that this was as far as they could go.
He said: "The Mercy Hospital is one of the major hospitals in Cork and yet there was no consultant on duty at the weekend. Prof Kearney has to cover and this is not good enough."
"We paid the ultimate price. We lost our daughter because of the inadequacies. A blood sample was taken at 10 in the morning but the result was not available until three in the afternoon." The fact that no one was admitting liability and yet a sum had been offered was only "bluffing", he said.
He praised his solicitor, Mr Ernest Cantillon, for his work on the case but said what happened to Lisa should not happen again to anyone else.
Judge A.G. Murphy asked the barrister for the Mercy Hospital to return to court. He told Mr McCarthy that the O'Sullivans were not happy about the settlement. Mr McCarthy said he represented only one of the defendants.
The judge said it appeared that each of the defendants - the Mercy Hospital, the doctor, Ms Fiona Devereux from Beechfield Ashleigh Wood, Monaleen, Limerick and the Southern Health Board, were saying it was not their fault or their fault entirely.
The judge said that he was going to allow the defendants to discuss the matter and adjourned the case until November 6th.