by Bernie English bernie@limerickpost.ie
THE HSE in Limerick has said that it is up to patients and not hospital management to determine whether further steps need to be taken in relation to a review of maternity cases ordered by an expert panel.
The panel recommended a full review of 28 cases following an RTE Prime Time investigation on the national maternity services with three of these cases involving the University Maternity Hospital in Limerick.
Welcoming the report, a spokesman for the UL Hospitals Group said a number of the recommendations made by the expert panel were already in place at the Limerick hospital.
“University Maternity Hospital Limerick is also currently participating in the National Midwifery Workload and Workforce Review in Maternity Services in Ireland.
In response to a query from The Limerick Post, the HSE spokesman said that additional lessons from the expert panel’s review would be incorporated into the ongoing care of maternity patients at the University Maternity Hospital in Limerick.
“The review conducted by Dr. Peter Boylan and his Clinical Review Team was not an audit of maternity services but instead a health care records review which helps to identify appropriate next steps for patients who have participated in this process.
“In order to protect patient’s privacy and confidentiality, none of the patient reports are published and individual patients received their own report only. The UL Hospitals Group therefore is unable to discuss the reviews further”, the spokesman concluded.
