THE CHAIRMAN of a review group which investigated the death of a 34-year-old woman after she gave birth to twins at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, Co Louth, has denied any suggestion that the group’s report was tampered with or compromised. Dr Seosamh Ó Coigligh, a consultant obstetrician at the hospital, said the review group investigating the death of Tania McCabe and one of her twins who also died studied original documents and considered submissions from family, staff involved in her care, invited experts and management.
“All inputs were assessed in equal measure before the report was finalised,” he said. “The review group stand over the findings of the report. We absolutely refute any suggestion that the report was tampered with or compromised.
“We would not have been prepared to sign the report had we not been completely satisfied with its integrity,” he added.
His comments came after documents released under the Freedom of Information Act showed that the hospital network manager for the northeast, Stephen Mulvany, had met with the review group before their report was finalised and made comments, which in his own words “led to revisions to the document”.
This revelation was a significant cause of concern to the McCabe family, their solicitor Michael Boylan said. He added that the family were concerned that a senior official in the HSE had been involved in seeking to make changes to what they understood would be “a fully impartial independent” report.
A statement issued by the HSE on behalf of Mr Mulvany explained that while the review was being carried out he had a duty, as network manager and commissioner of the report, to seek to understand the key issues, and challenge and ask questions of the independent review group which compiled the report, “but ultimately it was their report and that was always made clear to and accepted by the review group”.
It also said he accepted in full the findings and recommendations of the report.
Ms McCabe died on March 9th, 2007, and the report into her death by Dr Ó Coigligh and his review group was published in April 2008. It ultimately found doctors at the hospital did not diagnose that her waters had broken when she presented a few days before giving birth.
It also found that short-staffing compromised the care she received.
The other review group members were Dr Rory Page, consultant anaesthetist at Cavan hospital; Patricia Hughes, director of nursing and midwifery at the Coombe Women’s Hospital in Dublin, and Gerry Clerkin, HSE northeast risk adviser.