It was tragic to think somebody could die in the circumstances in which Enniscorthy woman Evelyn Joel (58) died last weekend, the Tánaiste and Minister for Health said yesterday.
Mary Harney said Mrs Joel's death six days after being admitted to Wexford General Hospital in a severely malnourished state, was obviously due to "appalling neglect" and there had been "huge failings".
Her comments came as the Health Service Executive announced that its inquiry into service provision for Mrs Joel would cover January 2004 to January 2006.
Ms Harney, who was attending a function in Dublin, said: "Clearly I don't want to prejudice the outcome of the different inquiries, both the Garda inquiry and the HSE inquiry, but it is tragic to think that in 2005 somebody could die in these circumstances. It's obviously appalling neglect. I don't know who is responsible for it. We have to await the outcome of those inquiries. I hope we can have the outcome very quickly," she said.
"Words can't describe how one would feel in relation to that matter and I think you know we have to obviously be sympathetic to everybody's concerns here, but above all else the State has to ensure that where possible we have vigorous processes in place to make sure something like this couldn't happen again," she concluded.
Responding to suggestions that there had been service provision cuts for people such as Mrs Joel in the southeast, the Minister said: "The one thing I want to say is I think we have to respect the fact that this is not a matter for political dispute. I don't think that has anything whatever to do with this situation. I think we need to await the outcome of inquiries before we make a decision as to what went wrong here and who is to blame.
"Clearly there are huge failings. Where the responsibility lies remains to be determined by the inquiries."
Meanwhile, the HSE South Eastern Area said the independent investigation into its service provision for Mrs Joel would be chaired by Dr Joe Duggan, consultant and geriatrician at Dublin's Mater hospital. He will be assisted by Tom O'Dwyer, former programme manager and deputy chief executive of the Southern Health Board, and Marie Faughey, child care manager Kildare/West Wicklow Local Health Office and former director of public health nursing in the Eastern Region.
They have been asked "to review the scope, range and level of [ HSE] services" to Mrs Joel from January 2004 to January 2006 for her medical condition and circumstances, to review the delivery and co-ordination of these services to her, and to review existing protocols and procedures in service delivery.
They are required to make any recommendations they feel necessary and complete their report and submit it to the HSE as soon as possible.
"The definitive timeframe for the completion of this review is a matter for the team to decide. However, the report should be completed at the earliest possible opportunity," the HSE South Eastern Area said in a statement.
It added that the investigation team would have access to "all files, records and expertise as required".