Health authorities have informally contacted two Dublin hospitals where a nurse recently suspended from duty at Naas hospital previously worked.
Ireland.com
understands the Eastern Regional Health Authority (ERHA) contacted the Adelaide and Meath Hospital Dublin (Tallaght Hospital) and the privately operated Blackrock Clinic over the investigations.
The nurse worked at Naas hospital for the past six months and at three other hospitals for short periods from November 2002 to January 2003, Nurse On Call, the agency that employed her, confirmed.
The woman, who is Irish and in her thirties, was suspended earlier this month after colleagues expressed concerns over an allegation she had administered medication to an elderly patient that had not been prescribed.
That patient recovered, but concerns have been expressed about the deaths of two previous patients at the hospital who had been under the nurse's care.
The nurse has not been charged with any offence.
Both the Garda and the South Western Area Health Board have begun investigations, and the Kildare coroner is investigating two deaths at Naas hospital that he believes may have occurred in an "unnatural manner".
As part of the investigation, gardaí exhumed the remains of 77-year-old John Gethings, who died at Naas hospital on March 1st, from a cemetery at Baltinglass, Co Wicklow, on Friday morning.
A spokeswoman for the the ERHA said it is not conducting any formal investigation into the allegations made against the nurse and could not do so until the nursing board, An Bord Altranais, decides on her registration status.
However, the ERHA could not confirm any contact with the Blackrock and Tallaght hospitals or make any further comment because of the legal nature of the investigation, the spokeswoman added.
A spokeswoman for BUPA, the health insurer which partly owns the Blackrock Clinic, told ireland.comnone of the authorities involved in the investigation into the agency nurse had been in contact with the hospital.
"We are not in a position to confirm anything because we have not been approached by the gardaí, the SWAHB, the ERHA or An Bord Altranais. . . . There has been no approach, no request for information, no alert, no call for action - nothing".
Ireland.comhas also sought comment from Tallaght Hospital to establish whether any internal investigation into the nurse is taking place.
It is understood that An Bord Altranais will meet on Wednesday to discuss the issue. An independent inquiry has been established by the South Western Area Health Board to examine the allegations, and a separate clinical audit will also take place.
The Garda, the health authorities and the family of the man whose remains were exhumed for toxicology tests last week have all emphasised that the woman retains a presumption of innocence.
The Irish Timesreported this morning it is estimated up to 500 case notes will have to be examined if the investigation is widened to include the other hospitals.