Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 3: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children if she has received the report of the investigation into the death of a person (details supplied) at Monaghan General Hospital; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21374/06]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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Following the death of Mr. Patrick Walsh in Monaghan hospital on 14 October 2005, the Health Service Executive commissioned Mr. Declan Carey, a consultant surgeon at Belfast City Hospital, and an honorary senior lecturer at Queen's University, and Professor John Monson, professor of surgery, University of Hull, to carry out an independent and external review.

The HSE has advised my Department that a report has been prepared by the consultants and is now going through a necessary legal process prior to completion. This is normal procedure. My Department is advised by the HSE that it has been in touch with the family of Mr. Walsh and briefed them fully on the current situation. I have not received the report and it would be inappropriate for me to speculate on its contents.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Did the Tánaiste say she has received the report?

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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No, I have not received it.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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When does the Tánaiste expect to receive the report, and why has she not yet received it? Can she say when it was concluded, and to whom it has been presented? Has it been given to the Walsh family, or has the family seen it?

In the wake of the tragic and unavoidable death of Pat Joe Walsh, the Tánaiste said:

Regardless of what policy operates in any particular hospital, there is no excuse for anybody dying unnecessarily because they cannot get access to appropriate medical care.

Does the Tánaiste accept that what is at issue here is not the policy in Monaghan General Hospital? Does she accept that the issue is the policy she and her Department have been pursuing, and the HSE embargo on acute surgical emergencies being dealt with at Monaghan General Hospital? Those are the underlying contributory factors. The embargo meant that members of staff at Monaghan General Hospital were prevented from performing a life-saving operation on Pat Joe Walsh. Does the Tánaiste accept that the members of staff at the hospital want to be able to deal with emergencies, that they want accident and emergency services restored to the hospital, and that they have the wholehearted support for the community?

Does the Tánaiste remember that in September 2005, the month prior to the tragic death of Pat Joe Walsh, all the consultant surgeons at the Cavan and Monaghan hospital sites made a public appeal for Monaghan General Hospital to be allowed to go back on call for surgical emergencies? After all that has happened, will the Tánaiste now, belatedly, listen to that appeal and help to avoid further tragedies being visited on our families in County Monaghan, so many of whom have now suffered the avoidable loss of one of their number?

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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I confirm I have not received the report. I understand it has been completed in recent weeks. The process is that if one is drawing any adverse conclusions about any individual, individuals or institution, they must be given an opportunity to respond, and that response has to be included before the report can be given to anybody, under natural justice and so on. For example, with regard to the Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital inquiry, the response of the Medical Missionaries of Mary was included in the report. That has to happen.

That is the process which I understand is under way regarding the report of which we are talking. I think the report has been given either to individuals or institutions — I do not know who they are — against whom findings have been made. They are then given the opportunity to respond.

In a very different situation, the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism recently commissioned a report into the activities of Bord na gCon, and the Attorney General advised him and the Cabinet that before the report could be published, the people mentioned in it, or identifiable though not mentioned by name, had to be given a period of time to consider what was said about them and respond. I think the period was 15 working days or something of that kind. That is fairly normal practice in these situations.

I presume that with regard to the report we are discussing, that period of time will shortly be up, and the Walsh family will then get the report, and it will be published. There would be no reason for the report if one were not to learn from what happened and make sure it cannot happen again.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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In her response, the Tánaiste talks of the report making adverse conclusions about any individual or institution. With respect, I am accordingly surprised she has not yet seen the report. Has Professor Brendan Drumm had sight of it yet?

The Walsh family, and certainly the people of County Monaghan and the staff at Monaghan General Hospital, will not tolerate scapegoating in this situation. We are very clear on the underlying reasons for the tragic death of Pat Joe Walsh. I am concerned that the Tánaiste says that a fortnight after its publication, while others are having an input, or have been appraised, the Tánaiste has not been appraised.

What is the Tánaiste's proposed course of action now that the report has been published? Has she spoken with the Walsh family, or has the family an understanding of how soon the report will be made available to them?

On a related matter, what can the Tánaiste say to the people of County Monaghan to follow the HSE statement that it cannot guarantee the future of emergency services at Monaghan General Hospital now that we have lost emergency surgery? This is the ongoing drip, drip, drip loss of every crucial element which makes up an acute hospital site, and is a serious matter. What answer has the Tánaiste to the collective appeal of the entire surgical department, all the consultant surgeons in Cavan and Monaghan hospitals in the month prior to the tragic death of Pat Joe Walsh? If that appeal of September 2005 had been acted on and we had the restoration of emergency surgery at Monaghan General Hospital, Pat Joe Walsh could very well be alive today and his family would not have had to suffer the terrible grief visited on it. It is surely time to recognise what is needed. Will the Tánaiste act in the full information now at her disposal? Nobody can be blind to what is now needed.

Where stands the latest of the many reports on hospital services in the north-east commissioned by the HSE? What can the Tánaiste tell us of that?

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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If we all knew why the late Pat Joe Walsh died, we would not have needed a report in the first place. The report was written by two very eminent independent clinicians, one from Northern Ireland and one from the UK. We sought people from outside the jurisdiction to get an objective assessment of what happened on that famous night. If we had known all the answers we would not have needed to do that.

Clearly there is no adverse impact on the late Pat Joe Walsh or his family, so the issue of sending the family a copy of the report in advance for their comments does not arise. We have to follow due process so that we can have a report which is publishable, which is what everybody would like to see and it is what is on the way. I have not seen the report, have not discussed it with anybody and have not a notion what is in it. I wish we could have had the report sooner. I am advised by the HSE that the Walsh family had been briefed on the matter. There have been ongoing problems with the HSE north-eastern area. There are five hospitals for a small population base.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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It does not have a small population base. That argument should not be pedalled.

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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It does.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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That is not the truth.

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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It does. To provide the range of acute services at the level of development——

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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It has an expanding population.

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The Deputy knows what happened in Northern Ireland when his party colleague had responsibility for health services. Let us be fair on this matter. The HSE commissioned an independent report into acute hospital services in the north east. The report is to hand and it will be published in due course.