Number of ‘birth incidents’ in maternity units rises 80pc

THE number of ‘birth-specific adverse incidents’ recorded by the maternity units of hospitals in Limerick and Portlaoise rose by 80 per cent last year.

Figures obtained by RTÉ’s Prime Time showed last night that the number of adverse incidents relating to clinical procedures in those units increased by an astonishing 245 per cent. Figures for the hospital group which includes the maternity units in Wexford, Kilkenny and Mullingar also showed major increases, although from a lower base.

Master of the Rotunda Hospital Dr Sam Coulter Smith told RTÉ without knowing what is behind them, the figures ‘on the surface do appear to be high’. The HSE told reporter Katie Hannon that the increase in reported incidents in Portlaoise Hospital is due to an improved local IT system and an increased awareness of the requirement for all staff to report incidents.

The HSE said the number of incidents reported that resulted in harm is less than 2 per cent of the total number of reported incidents. That would mean that up to 30 people were injured as a result of those incidents in the maternity units in Limerick and Portlaoise.

The latest figures include every adverse incident reported in all the maternity units outside Dublin and are drawn from the State Claims Agency’s National Incident Management System.

The revelations come in the wake of a damning HIQA report into standards of care at Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise.