Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

-----what reports were done and how the reporting was done, and I am answering her question in detail.

The second review is the regional perinatal service requirement. As the Deputy will be aware, I have instructed the HSE to start a third review, which looks at all hospitals.

With regard to the timing, the first incident occurred on 25 March last year when CUH mortuary sent perinatal organs and human body parts to Belgium for incineration. The second incident occurred on 2 April last year when CUH mortuary sent perinatal organs and human body parts to Belgium on a second occasion for incineration. On 22 April, CUH management were informed that perinatal organs were disposed of by way of incineration.

This was immediately escalated to the safety incident management team in CUH. CUMH attended CUH for a preliminary review of the incident. On 11 and 12 May, CUMH made the open disclosure telephone calls with the 18 families and contacted them. On 12 May, the South/South West Hospital Group informed HSE acute operations, the coroner, the National Women and Infants Health Programme and the quality assurance team.

To address the Deputy's question, the Department of Health received a patient safety communication on 12 May. There were then regular updates whereby the Department requested updates from the HSE in terms of the two reviews. The systems review is about what actually happened and then the perinatal review is with regard to the standard. Update reviews were request on 14 May and the Department received the update regarding the incident. Further updates were then requested on 26 May, 11 September, 13 October, 21 December, 19 April, 10 September and so forth.

To answer the Deputy's question, the first briefing I received was at the time questions were posed to the Department by RTÉ. That was the first time. I immediately sought assurance from the HSE and asked for a full system-wide look.

I think it is necessary but do not believe it is enough that there is a review into the specific incident and into the standards and procedures around that. I want to make sure there is a very thorough review right across our entire healthcare systems, both on what happened and what is happening today, because I think there will genuinely be parents out there who are worried. I really do. Parents who have suffered unimaginable loss will have watched that programme and been worried by it. As well as what is happening today, I asked the HSE to go back and look at subsequent years because there will be parents who will be asking questions on that. The HSE said it will be able to report back to me within three weeks.

The first review is the detail on what happened, why it happened and what needs to be done, which I know we will all be looking at with very keen interest. The HSE has advised that that will be with me in early November. Obviously, I will be publishing that review and I imagine we will debate it here and-or in the Joint Committee on Health. I thank the Deputy for her questions.

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