Vol. 386 No. 1
asked the Minister for Health if he will make a statement on the death of a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary; if he has received a report on the incident; the response he had made to the Galway Simon Community on the matter; and if there will be a full investigation into the death in question.
248.
asked the Minister for Health the investigations which have been held into the circumstances of the death of a person (detailed supplied) in the casual unit of the Hospital of the Assumption, Thurles, County Tipperary, on 3 June 1988; the findings of any such investigation; if the casual unit was a locked ward; if so, the period for which it was locked; if there was any system which allowed residents to attract outside attention in the event of anyone becoming ill or the outbreak of fire; if his attention has been drawn to reports that other residents attempted to attract medical attention for the person when he became ill but were unable to do so; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 227 and 248 together. I would like to assure the Deputies that this matter has been fully investigated by the Mid-Western Health Board in conjunction with the staff at the Hospital of the Assumption, Thurles. The patient in question was treated in the hospital itself on a number of occasions and had discharged himself against medical advice some 24 hours before his death. Medical opinion indicated that because of the seriousness of his illness he could have died at any time.
I should state that the casual unit at the hospital was not a medical facility. The unit was inspected regularly by a night attendant during the night of Mr. Broderick's death. Its purpose was to provide overnight accommodation for homeless men.
The board's officials are satisfied that conditions in the casual unit at Thurles were not a factor in the patient's death. Nevertheless they felt that, in the light of this sad incident, it was necessary to carry out a full review of the arrangements for homeless people in the area. Accordingly, they have asked the Simon Community in Galway and local voluntary groups to forward proposals concerning the provision of appropriate alternative accommodation for the homeless in Thurles.
