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NEITHER the HSE nor the health minister has apologised to Praveen Halappanavar for the leaking of a draft report into the death of his wife Savita.
Letters from Minister James Reilly and the HSE were sent to Mr Halappanavar's solicitor Gerard O'Donnell yesterday, days after a draft report on the circumstances of her death was leaked. However, neither the minister nor the health authority apologise for the incident.
In his letter to Mr Halappanavar, Mr Reilly described it as "very disappointing and unnecessary" that the draft report had been leaked. He reaffirmed his commitment to provide the widower with a copy of the completed report.
A letter from the HSE said the authority was extremely disappointed at the leak and the distress caused to Mr Halappanavar.
"There was no apology in either letter which is extraordinary. It's just another lapse by the HSE," said Mr O'Donnell.
The Galway solicitor also rejected claims that Mr Reilly had spoken to Mr Halappanavar in the wake of the draft report coming into the public domain.
"I saw reports that the minister spoke with Praveen, that is not the case. Neither myself nor Praveen have spoken with the minister," he added.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health confirmed yesterday that it is finalising an "early warning score" for maternity hospitals which will provide guidelines for staff on the signs to watch for to indicate a critically ill patient is deteriorating.
Warning
The HSE said this will be piloted in a number of maternity hospitals from next month.
The department is to launch a similar early warning score for acute hospitals next week. Guidelines will also be produced for paediatric hospitals.
The draft report into the death of Savita (31) suggested that hospital staff underestimated the seriousness of her condition for too long after she was admitted and told she would miscarry.
She was diagnosed with sepsis days after her admission and this progressed to septic shock. She suffered a cardiac arrest as a result of the infection.
Irish Independent
