Call for British experts to probe woman’s death at Holles Street
Grieving widower’s solicitor calls for independent inquiry
BRITISH experts should be called in to investigate a tragic death at a Dublin maternity hospital, according to the family’s legal team.
The call follows revelations that a series of tragic incidents have taken place at Irish maternity hospitals in recent weeks.
In one instance, American Malak Kuzbary Thawley, 34, died during emergency surgery at Holles Street hospital last month.
Living in Ireland for three years with her American husband, the pregnant woman went for a scan at a private clinic on May 8.
She was told she had an ectopic pregnancy – where the foetus develops outside the womb – and was advised to attend Holles Street Hospital for another scan.
According to the family’s solicitor, the hospital told her she needed emergency surgery.
During the operation, Ms Thawley sustained a vascular injury and subsequently died.
The hospital has launched an internal investigation and has reported the case to the coroner.
Solicitor Caoimhe Haughey, who is representing the Thawley family, said: ‘If this inquiry is to have any integrity and is to restore any confidence, it needs to have external members who have no association with Holles Street.
‘I will be raising that directly with the Master.
‘These inquiries should not be for the hospitals or the medical staff involved. The people at the centre are the victims and those who have been left bereaved.’
Asked if having medics from other maternity hospitals on the team would be preferable, she said: ‘I don’t wish to cast aspersions but there is a very closed community. There is an extensive overlap between the hospitals.
‘When it comes to investigations, justice has to be seen to be done. There has to be transparency and impartiality. Someone completely independent, perhaps from England, would be preferable.’
Ms Haughey said the couple had asked about using a drug called methotrexate, which stops pregnancy, but were told surgery was the only option.
A spokesman for Holles Street Hospital said the case had been
‘Closed community with extensive overlap ’
reported to the coroner and a public inquest would take place.
He added: ‘The coronial process involves a review entirely independent of the hospital, conducted in public with direct family involvement, who may be legally represented if they wish.
‘The hospital is pleased to participate in this robust independent external review process as directed by the coroner.’
He said the hospital would always carry out a review of any maternal death and that this internal inquiry is separate from the public inquest.
Dr Krysia Lynch of lobby group Association for Improvements in the Maternity Services – Ireland, said: ‘We need to get to the bottom of this so people can learn. The coroner’s decisions are not open to the public unless there is an inquest.
‘We know the case has been referred, but we don’t know yet if there will be an inquest.
‘In other cases an internal inquiry was accompanied by an external one and a coroner’s inquest.’
Dr Lynch said a coroner’s recommendations do not have force of law in terms of pushing change in a hospital.
She said: ‘We also need someone who can come in and make a diagnosis on what went wrong. They would say, “This is what happens in other countries and this needs to change. This is what’s in the best interests of babies.” And the family in this awful case.’
Separately to this tragedy, it has emerged that a pregnant woman in the care of Dublin’s Coombe Hospital died while attending another hospital earlier this year.
‘Need someone to find out what happened’
And at Cavan Hospital two deaths took place in the same week. One woman lost her baby early last Sunday morning. In the second case, a baby died hours after being born. A post-mortem is expected to examine the cause of death.
This series of events follows intense focus on the maternity sector in the last 18 months.
A maternity strategy launched in January has stalled, with advocates hoping it will be reactivated by new Health Minister Simon Harris.