Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 July 2022
687. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health when the annual report on the babies’ organs that were incinerated that was to be published on 30 June 2022 will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38826/22]
View answerThe final draft of the report will be furnished to the families affected as soon as possible once the process is complete.I wish to again express my sympathy to the bereaved families and acknowledge the distress and upset that has been caused to these families. I am aware of the paramount importance of dignity and respect for these parents who have experienced the loss of a child.Within the public health service, when an incident occurs, it is important that the health service where the incident occurred is responsible for ensuring that the incident is appropriately investigated, so that the service can learn from what went wrong to improve services in the future.The HSE advise that a Systems Analysis Review of the incident is ongoing. The Review Team continues to have ongoing engagement with the families affected every three weeks with an update provided last week. I understand that the further delay in completion of this review is very upsetting for the families affected.This incident was originally advised to my Department via the Patient Safety Communications Protocol on 12th May 2020. Officials from my Department have been liaising directly with the HSE on this matter since this time. Following requests from my Department, 19 updates have been received from the HSE with the most recent update provided on 7th July 2022. I have been provided with formal briefing by my officials on five occasions. They continue to engage directly with the HSE and to brief me on developments.The HSE advise that the Review Team are currently engaging legal opinion on the draft report before sending to participants in accordance with factual accuracy checking and fair procedures. Once this process is complete the final draft will be shared with the families for input on factual accuracy checking.
