Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

I welcome the terms of reference and the establishment of the review team in this case. However, a number of very serious questions remain. Why did the Minister, the Department and the HSE have to wait until after Melissa Redmond's story went into the public arena, when it was known from last August 2009? Did not the Minister, the Department or the HSE consider the implications of what was brought to their attention then, not only with regard to Melissa Redmond's story but for other women presenting at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda and for women who would present, perhaps in similar circumstances, at other maternity units across the State? Why is it always that the Minister can only respond when the spotlight of public attention is placed on an issue? Has the Minister or the HSE taken the opportunity to try to establish from the records of maternity units across the State, the noted and acknowledged numbers of misdiagnoses that resulted in the loss of a child unnecessarily?

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