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Irish Independent
21-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Independent
Galway to hold rally for Adam's Protocols following young man's death – ‘We believed that his passing wouldn't be in vain'
The rally has been organised by Joe Loughnane, brother of the late Alan Loughnane. Back in February, Alan presented himself to the A&E at University Hospital Galway (UHG) in a distressed state, but later that day he left the hospital and took his own life. Since then, Joe Loughnane has been campaigning for hospitals to have a separate emergency department for mental health patients – an initiative called Alan's Protocol in memory of his late brother. However, recently the regional executive officer for HSE West and Northwest Tony Canavan said the protocol will not be implemented. But Joe has no intention of giving up and has organised a rally for Saturday, June 7. The event will start in Eyre Square at 2pm and the crowd will either proceed to the Spanish Arch or to UHG. Joe explained to the Irish Independent: 'Depending on the turnout and the weather, we'll march either the Spanish Arch, if it's a large turnout, but if it's a smaller turnout we're going to march to University Hospital Galway, where there will be contributions from people who bereaved by suicide, doctors and mental health staff themselves.' Joe explained this initial decision from the HSE has left him upset and disappointed as he had been contacting the HSE, TDs and politicians with his and other people's experiences as well as opinions from experts and charities. 'It was very upsetting. Sadly in this country it takes somebody to die before the government realise they have to do something, especially with healthcare issues. 'We believed that Adam's passing wouldn't be in vain, that the government would have realised 'okay we need to do something here', but they seems to just be giving us the same responses. 'And then on Friday Tony Canavan said, 'no, we still want people to go through the emergency department'. ADVERTISEMENT 'To me, as somebody recently bereaved by suicide, what they are basically saying is that they want to continue this process of funnelling everybody through the emergency department, no matter what type of crisis they're in, a physical health crisis or a mental health crisis, in the full knowledge of the fact that those in a physical health crisis are going to get priority over those in a mental health crisis.' Joe explained the HSE does not want to leave the emergency department without consultant psychiatrists. However, he added this is not what Adam's Protocols is about. 'We understand there will be people who self-harmed, obviously someone like that needs to go through the emergency department, because they get the proper healthcare there. But my brother was in perfect physical health, he should have been sent to a mental health A&E. 'Obviously that is going to require extra staffing, but the money is there, and it's literally a measure that will save lives. 'What we realised in the past weeks, months, since Adam's passed, had he just been taken into a room, sat down, given a cup of tea, and someone chat to him, and close and lock the door, he would have been fine and he would have been here today. We know that for a fact. 'Because he was in that busy, overcrowded A&E room of university hospital Galway on a Tuesday afternoon where he was looking around, feeling like a burden, everyone else surrounding him was getting the care and he wasn't, that's why he walked out.' Unfortunately, Adam's story is not an isolated case as over the past three months Joe has been inundated with stories from all over the country. 'I had to stop reading some of them because it's actually quite triggering and traumatic to read some of the stories. They're coming through every day, comments on Instagram and Facebook, people private message me, people email me, it seems to be something that has been babbling up and has been bothering people for decades now. 'A lot of the families are people who lost their loved one 15 years ago, but it was in similar situations, where they've gone to an A&E, but they were dismissed and told to go home and given medication, and sadly that person then ended their life. 'This story seems to be very common. But it's just not talked about. I think a lot of families, because of the stigma around suicide, maybe they didn't feel comfortable talking about it. But I feel like I contributed to break that stigma when I spoke openly about Alan passing three months ago.' He added: 'I know that's happened again sadly to people since Alan passed. That's why we want to make sure this takes place and it changes things.' Talking about actions to make sure that this does not happen again, Joe said that anybody who comes to the hospital in a mental health crisis 'should be given the same care regardless of whether they have health insurance or not, regardless of how much money they have'. Also, immediate checks are required: 'Adam had been an inpatient of University Hospital Galway, so when he presented himself on that day, that should have been checked immediately. And they should have secured him and monitored him. That lack of monitoring, that's replicated hundreds of stories that I have been sent over the last couple of months across the country. He added he is not asking for 'a pie in the sky' and is confident Adam's Protocols could be implemented soon if the HSE and the Government agreed to it. 'This is not something radical, it has been called before. Back in 2020 in Limerick a motion was passed calling for a separate emergency department for mental health patients. And it was passed unanimously. 'In the UK in the last couple of years they started to roll out a 24/7 mental health A&E, they call them urgent care centres, but they don't require any referral, they are for anybody who walks in and it's a completely different environment than an emergency department, within the same hospital. And these are NHS, publicly funded. 'For me it's about presenting examples like that to the government, opposition parties, or whoever, to make them realise this is not a pie in the sky, this is something that has been done in the county right beside us and it can be done here easily too.
Irish Independent
17-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Independent
Portiuncula maternity unit reported 69 ‘clinical incidents' early this year as tenth external review into care gets under way
It comes as it emerged a recent baby death at the hospital is now being externally reviewed. It brings to 10 the number of reviews into the care of women and babies now under way at the unit. A new management team was installed by the HSE in January. New figures show the hospital reported 69 clinical incidents over January and February as part of a system of monthly safety statements made individually by 19 maternity units and hospitals. The nature of the cases is not stated, but a clinical incident is an event or circumstance that could have or did result in unnecessary harm to the patient and is logged with a national monitoring system. A spokeswoman for the HSE West and North West said yesterday she could not disclose the cause of death of the baby who recently died. 'We cannot comment on individual cases when to do so might reveal information in relation to identifiable individuals, breaching the ethical requirement on us to observe our duty of confidentiality. An external review process has begun and is currently finalising the terms of reference. We will await the outcome of this review,' she said. In January, it was announced that seven cases of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), which causes a lack of oxygen and blood supply to the brain, in 2024 and early 2025 were being reviewed externally. None of the children died. Another two stillbirths, which happened in 2023, are also being reviewed. We do anticipate receiving a number of reviews shortly. Once completed, the findings of each individual review will be shared with the families involved News of the infant death will lead to renewed concern among parents. Delays in providing answers have also added to anxiety and a number of the reviews were expected to be finalised around February. ADVERTISEMENT Asked about the delay, the HSE spokeswoman said the 'reviews under way are entirely independent and it is important to give them time and space to conclude'. 'We do anticipate receiving a number of reviews shortly. Once completed, the findings of each individual review will be shared with the families involved,' she said. She added an external management team remains in place in to oversee all elements of maternity and neonatal care. 'The team is led by an external consultant obstetrician Dr Mark Skehan and includes a director of midwifery and a senior manager. The director of midwifery post was initially filled on an interim basis, and as planned, a more permanent placement has been made.' Portiuncula went from having one baby being diagnosed HIE in 2023 to six last year – highlighting how the jump in numbers raised concerns. No baby was diagnosed with HIE in 2022 and just one case was reported in 2021. Six of the cases under review involve babies with HIE born in the hospital last year and the seventh was delivered in early January. Six of the babies needed therapeutic cooling treatment to reduce the risk of disability or death. The lead reviewers in the separate reviews are Professor Fergal Malone, Professor Sam Coulter-Smith and Dr Sieglinde Mullers from the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin. Shortly after her appointment as Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill visited the hospital and spoke to parents. She said it is 'most important that all appropriate steps are taken to prioritise patient safety and neonatal care at Portiuncula, and in every maternity hospital in Ireland'. 'I will continue to engage with the teams at Portiuncula while we await the completion of the reviews,' she said. A 2018 report in to Portiuncula maternity care was carried out by Professor James Walker, who was professor of obstetrics at the University of Leeds at the time. He led a team that looked at 18 perinatal events in the Galway hospital from 2008 to 2014. The report found significant failings in some incidents, as well as serious errors of management in 10 cases that probably made a difference to the outcome for these babies. Under the system of maternity care, smaller units such as Portiuncula are part of a wider network, with more complex patients referred to larger centres in the region. According to the HSE, while the incidence of therapeutic hypothermia remains a critical concern, there has been a demonstrable reduction in cases. In 2020, there were 76 cases, compared to 53 in 2023. Given the declining birth rate, this reduction may not be statistically significant, but it does indicate progress, it said. It is important to note that HIE, the condition that it treats, can arise from various obstetric complications, it added. This includes placental abruption, uterine rupture, shoulder dystocia, cord prolapse, maternal collapse and foetal haemorrhage. The external investigators are to examine why the babies developed HIE and what problems might have happened during labour and delivery.
RTÉ News
16-05-2025
- Health
- RTÉ News
Further review into Portiuncula after recent baby death
A further external review into maternity care provided at Portiuncula Hospital in Co Galway has begun. It follows the death of a baby at the hospital recently. In a statement to RTÉ News, the HSE confirmed the latest review and said it brings to ten the number of reviews under way into care provided to women and babies at the hospital. The HSE said that a number of independent, external reviews are being carried out into the care provided to women and their babies in PUH. It said that it expects a number of those reviews to be completed shortly and the findings will be shared with the families involved. In January, the HSE announced external reviews into the delivery of nine babies at Portiuncula University Hospital. The hospital said that last year seven babies had had hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE), resulting in six of them being referred for neonatal hypothermic treatment, also referred to as neonatal cooling. It added that the previous year two stillbirths occurred at the hospital. The care provided in relation to those two deliveries is also currently being reviewed externally. The HSE confirmed there were six babies delivered with HIE in 2024 and one baby with HIE in 2025. A "highly experienced management team" has been appointed to oversee maternity services at the Galway hospital over the coming months. The team, led by external consultant obstetrician Dr Mark Skehan, will be responsible for managing and supporting all aspects of maternity and gynaecology and neonatal services. The HSE said the team will report directly to the HSE West and North West regional management. "An external management team remains in place in PUH 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 added today.
Irish Times
16-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
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. READ MORE 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.' [ Portiuncula hospital reviews will need to examine three key factors Opens in new window ] 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.
