10th review initiated at Portiuncula Hospital after death of baby
A further review into maternity care provided at
Portiuncula Hospital
in Co Galway has begun following the death of a baby in recent weeks, the
HSE
has confirmed.
It is now the 10th review that is taking place into the care given to women and babies at the hospital.
The investigations were initiated after six babies delivered in 2024 and one in 2025 had hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) – a reduction in the supply of blood or oxygen to a baby's brain before, during or after birth. Six of these babies were referred for neonatal therapeutic hypothermia known as neonatal cooling.
In addition, two stillbirths occurred at the hospital in 2023 and the circumstances were also being reviewed externally.
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None of the external reviews, nine of which were announced in January, has been completed to date.
It is understood the death of another baby occurred over recent weeks and an external review was initiated shortly afterwards. The HSE said it was engaging with the family at this time.
The HSE announced in late January that external reviews were being conducted into the delivery of nine babies at the hospital and the expectation was that most of them would be concluded by early March. A spokeswoman for the HSE said it anticipates a number of them will be completed 'shortly'.
'A further external review has recently commenced into the care provided to a pregnant woman at the hospital, where sadly her baby died,' a spokeswoman for HSE West and North West told The Irish Times on Thursday.
'This brings to 10 the number of reviews underway into care provided to women and babies at the hospital.'
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Portiuncula hospital reviews will need to examine three key factors
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Dr Pat Nash, regional clinical director for HSE West and North West, said in January he expected seven of the reviews would be completed in the next month, while the other two would take another three to four months.
The HSE said the reviews being carried out at the hospital were 'independent and external to the hospital and region'.
'This process is ongoing, once completed the findings of each individual review will be shared with the families involved,' it said. It added it was important to give the review teams 'time and space' to conclude their work.
It is understood one team is conducting five of the reviews with a number of other teams overseeing the others.
An external management team remains in place in Portiuncula Hospital to 'oversee all elements' of maternity and neonatal care.
'The team are working closely with the women and children's network in the region and the local maternity unit to ensure quality and safety in the service,' the HSE said.
A spokeswoman for the Minister for Health
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill
said last week that she had met with the families involved in the cases being reviewed.
'She [the Minister] is aware that the reviews are ongoing and understands that they are expected to be completed soon,' the spokeswoman said.
'Once the review reports are completed, these will be shared with the families, and other key stakeholders including the Minister. The Minister has asked the HSE to keep the families updated throughout this process and provide whatever supports they require.'
A previous inquiry into maternity services at the hospital was established in early 2015 with James Walker, professor of obstetrics at the University of Leeds, appointed to head it.
The findings of the Walker report, published in May 2018, identified multiple serious failures including staffing issues, a lack of training and poor communication among maternity staff, which contributed to the death of three babies.
Of the 18 births examined, six involved either still births or the death of the baby shortly after delivery.
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