Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses. Like my colleague, Senator Murphy, I extend my sympathies to Mr. Hughes and his wife, Karen, on the death of Sean. I was not here when Mr. Hughes read his opening statement. Unfortunately, I was detained elsewhere. However, I have gone through it. I am aware that my colleague, Deputy McAuliffe, has raised the issue several times on behalf of Mr. Hughes, and he has also referred to that. That family has suffered a huge loss, which is understandable given the sudden nature of how it happened. As Senator Murphy said, there is not enough known about sepsis, about being in hospital and afterwards, and the detrimental impact that can have on a patient. Today’s forum is good not only for this committee to hear of the experience and the witnesses’ knowledge of the subject but also for us to see where we can assist both the campaign and indeed the work that Deputy McAuliffe has already undertaken. I suggest we invite in the HSE to discuss this matter. Other organisations have been in previously. It is important to keep up the momentum and the pressure. The Minister, Deputy Donnelly, is examining the issue. I have read a number of the responses to Deputy McAuliffe’s parliamentary questions. It is important for the witnesses’ sakes that they see progress made on this campaign, even in incremental steps. I too concur that radio or television advertisements are necessary. Training is also essential for hospital staff in particular. We need to explore the wider implication not just of informing the public but indeed all those within the healthcare sphere. In one of the documents, Mr. Hughes referred to it being the number 1 cause of preventable deaths worldwide. That highlights the impact of the situation here in Ireland. I have no questions per se. The statement covers a great deal of Mr. Hughes’s personal experience. Ms O’Mahony’s responses to questions so far have answered some of the questions I would have asked had I been physically here in the committee room. In order to progress this and to assist the campaign, we should bring in the HSE and ask that, out of its public relations budget, it should allocate something towards a national campaign that would have some impact on the causes of sepsis. I thank the witnesses for coming in today.