(Mayo): Lorraine Yeates died at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin, on 18 June 1985. Lorraine was almost six years old and collapsed following a heart attack on her way home from school. She was brought to Crumlin hospital by her mother where she was placed on a ventilator but she died approximately ten hours later, having suffered another heart attack. When Lorraine died her doctor approached her parents and told them that he would have to perform a coroner's post mortem because she had only been in the hospital for ten hours and that legally he was bound to perform it. According to the child's mother, she was told that her permission was not required for this.
The post mortem was carried out on 19 June 1985. Last week the mother contacted the Dublin City Coroner's Office to ask for a full post mortem report on her daughter and has received a letter from the coroner which stated: "Lorraine's death was not reported to the coroner's office. We have made extensive inquiries and it would appear that an in-house post mortem was performed by Crumlin hospital who then registered the death."
Baby Michael Reilly was aged five months when he died on 13 December 1994 during surgery under anaesthetic within 24 hours of admission to Our Lady's hospital. Again, the baby's mother was told that a coroner's post mortem was a legal requirement. The post mortem was subsequently performed on 14 December 1994. The child's heart and lungs were removed and retained. The baby's mother also checked with the Dublin City Coroner's Office and was informed that the office was never notified about Michael's death.
Section 18(4) of the Coroners Act, 1962, states:
Every medical practitioner, registrar of deaths or funeral undertaker and every occupier of a house or mobile dwelling and every person in charge of an institution or premises in which a deceased person was residing at the time of his death who has reason to believe that the deceased person died, either directly or indirectly as a result of violence or misadventure of by unfair means or as a result of negligence or misconduct or malpractice on the part of others, or from any cause other than natural illness or disease for which he had been seen and treated by a registered medical practitioner within one month before his death, or in such circumstances as may require investigation (including death as the result of the administration of an anaesthetic), shall immediately notify the coroner within whose district the body of the deceased is lying of the facts and circumstances of the death.
Not alone was the coroner not notified, neither were the Garda. Subsection (5) states that if the coroner is not notified, a member of the Garda Síochána, not below the rank of sergeant, must be notified.
In the case of Lorraine Yeates, the family has confirmation from Crumlin Garda station that there is no record of the death being registered with them. The Garda also confirmed to the mother that in the case of a coroner's post mortem, a garda should have been present to identify the body of the little girl. The Garda also told the mother that form C71 was not filled out. Likewise, in the case of baby Michael Reilly, the family has established that there is no evidence of form C71 having been completed in either Sundrive or Crumlin Garda stations.
These families have already been deeply traumatised by the unauthorised withholding of their children's organs. This latest development, which flouts the clear intention of the Coroner's Act, 1962, has now raised the status of the controversy to a new level. Until now, we were talking about the ethics and propriety of taking the organs of dead children without consultation with or permission from parents or guardians. Now we are dealing with a breach of the law. The law was disregarded and therefore broken.
It is clear that all of the circumstances surrounding the death of the children, the subsequent unauthorised withholding of their organs and the failure to comply with the strict letter of the law means that the demand of the parents for a fully statutory inquiry is fully justified and should be conceded.
