Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has said University Hospital Galway is correct to launch a review into a number of incidents after newborn babies suffered head injuries after being delivered.
He said the Saolta hospital group, which runs UHG, told him a “small cluster” of babies had been identified as suffering subgaleal haemorrhages last year.
As first reported by the Irish Independent on Thursday, Saolta has initiated a review into the matter.
It said when subgaleal haemorrhage of a newborn occurs in one of its hospitals it is reported through the incident reporting process and logged with the National Incident Managing System (Nimis).
In a statement, the HSE-established group said: “This is consistent with the HSE Incident Management Framework.
“Every such incident will have a preliminary review performed, and the findings are presented at the Saolta Serious Incident Management Team meeting.
“There are varying grades of severity of subgaleal haemorrhage dependant on a number of clinical factors.
“UHG are currently undertaking a review of cases of subgaleal haemorrhage which occurred during 2022 as part of a commitment to quality of care.
“In all of the cases the infant was discharged home well from hospital.”
Mr Donnelly said it was critical that the review into the incidents is open and transparent.
“I can confirm that all of the parents involved in the review have been informed, which is essential,” he told RTÉ's Morning Ireland.
Asked about the reporting that one affected mother has expressed concern her daughter is not meeting developmental milestones, Mr Donnelly said: “There are worries – and the hospital is doing exactly what we would expect them to do, which is to initiate a full review.”
He added: “It's exactly the type of thing we want to see hospitals do when they spot a potential patient safety issue. They've initiated a review. They've engaged with all of the parents involved. And we now need to let that process happen and see what it finds.”
Mr Donnelly said he did not know the exact number of cases, he had been told by the hospital that it was “a small number.” It was his hope that the review would be published.
Saolta did not provide a figure for the number of cases under investigation.
Children's hospital delays
The Minister also spoke of his deep frustration at the ongoing delays in the completion of the National Children’s Hospital.
Mr Donnelly said he was “deeply frustrated” at the delays and level of claims, now at €760 million by the contractor. He added that he was determined that the hospital was going to be completed as quickly as possible.
“There has been intensive engagement between the board and the contractor in recent months. The contractor had submitted a completion date of March of next year. That's what we were all looking forward to. Then they resubmitted one to say it wouldn't be March, it would be May. They then resubmitted again with another date, which the board at this point is not accepting and is in very intensive engagement with the contractor on this.”
The Minister rejected the suggestion that the board was helpless, they were doing a “very commendable job” and they were fighting the 2,000 claims from the contractor. To date €12 million has been awarded, and the board would continue to fight the claims and keep costs down.
“We have to get the hospital open,” he said.
Mr Donnelly claimed that three factors led to the delays – the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the necessity to fight the claims. The contractor was seeking an extra €760 million. “The board obviously is saying ‘you're not getting anything like that’. And that's an ongoing intensive interaction between the board and the contractor. Some of it is in the courts, some of it is in the dispute resolution mechanism set up within the contract.”
Mr Donnelly said 90 per cent of the hospital was complete with the remaining 10 per cent involving mechanical and electrical works.
