Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak on a very sad and difficult issue for everybody involved at the Midlands Regional Hospital, Portlaoise. We must primarily hold in our thoughts the five infants who are no longer with us as a result of incidents in the maternity unit in Portlaoise, and the devastation it has caused to their families. I thank the families for their courage in pursuing the matter and RTE for having highlighted in on "Prime Time". If the families had not been so strong and brave, we would not be here having this debate and HIQA would not have produced its report. While there were faults at local and regional level, the major faults were at the level of senior management, which presided over unacceptable risks for patients. Senior management in the HSE knew about it over years and the State Claims Agency notified them about various incidents in Portlaoise hospital.

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The bottom line is that the HSE senior management was aware of the problem. Not only did it do nothing about it, it actively covered it up. We saw the row over the publication of the report. I am sure some in the HSE sought to prevent it coming out.

None of that takes from the difficulties at Portlaoise hospital. Will the Minister ensure the recommendations are implemented in full and confidence is restored in the interests of patients and those who want to use the hospital in the future? This afternoon the Taoiseach made an extraordinary comment when he said there are accountability and disciplinary action procedures for doctors and nurses but not for senior management. That is where the Minister must ensure there is accountability with senior management in the HSE. Otherwise, he cannot stand over the HSE when he comes into this Chamber. HIQA says it cannot stand over Portlaoise hospital. Accordingly, the Minister cannot stand over the HSE unless he can be sure he has accountability in the service.

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