John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In raising this matter, I express my sympathy to the family of the late Niall Comerford, his parents, Walter and Joan, brothers, Damien and Shane, and sister, Linda. Niall Comerford was a young man who had a routine operation lasting for 15 minutes in Kilcreene Hospital on 24 September 2012. His parents complain that he was not given pre-operative advice and information on his after-care was not provided on discharge. He was simply asked to return to the hospital within ten days and visit his consultant six weeks later. On 1 November 2012, Niall died as a result of pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis. Professor Beverley Hunt, who has written many papers on deep vein thrombosis, states that the condition can be avoided or addressed by following appropriate advice.

The death of Niall Comerford has been shocking for his family who decided to wait until after the autopsy last Friday before raising the case publicly. I listened carefully to Walter Comerford speak on my local radio station in recent days. Despite his loss, Mr. Comerford is dealing constructively with his son's death and has asked publicly for an independent inquiry. When I met him before the autopsy more than a week ago he was thinking along the lines of seeking an inquiry but chose to await the outcome of the autopsy. He has since issued a public statement requesting an independent inquiry.

It is difficult to believe the Health Service Executive did not contact the Comerford family until after the autopsy. I believe it was for this reason that the family concluded it did not have confidence in the HSE. Put simply, I support the family's request and urge the Minister of State to support the family during this very difficult time by immediately establishing an independent inquiry to ascertain precisely what occurred. Such an inquiry could be carried out by the Health Information and Quality Authority.

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