Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

If they are willing to do that, I will act on it immediately to find out what the situation is. I thank the Deputy for raising the matter.

I am conscious of the time and that the issue of the reviews may arise in other questions. There are three reviews happening. Two are being run by Cork University Hospital and one is being run by the HSE at my request. The first review is what is called a systems analysis review, the second is called a regional perinatal service requirement review and the third is a review based on my request of the HSE for absolute assurance around any other services. The first two reviews relate to Cork University Hospital and Cork University Maternity Hospital. The first, which is the systems analysis review and the one I imagine most Deputies will be interested in, is to establish what happened, why it happened and what needs to be done as a result. It is an investigation into the incident itself. The second, which is also important, examines the methodologies, standards and standard operating procedures to see if changes need to be made at policy level. With the third review, I have asked the HSE for assurances from across the system. Initial indications from the HSE are that all hospitals are in compliance now. The HSE is undertaking a look-back to see what the situation has been in previous years across the system in every relevant hospital.

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