External review: Cavan General Hospital.

Review of maternity unit in cavan underway after baby deaths

An external review of the maternity unit of Cavan General will begin today, following concerns over the deaths of four babies at the hospital since 2012.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has commissioned four external investigations, two of which have been completed, while another has been escalated and is awaiting the appointment of a review team, The Irish Times reports. At least two members of staff have been referred by the hospital to the Medical Council, the paper further understands.

The council is currently investigating two other complaints brought by patients. One member of staff has been on administrative leave since last September. The hospital has been unable to find a replacement to fill in for this member of staff, leaving the remaining three consultants to share the work.

The paper reports that this is about half the recommended level of staffing. The incident did not involve the death of a baby. Arising from the problems which have arisen at the hospital, the HSE has commissioned a quality, risk and patient safety assurance review to assess governance arrangements in Cavan.

The three-day exercise conducted by David Flory, a former senior executive of the National Health Service in Britain, will assess governance, care pathways, complaints, incidents and risk management, staff have been told.

The hospital's corrected perinatal mortality figures, however, for 2011, 2012 and 2013 were 1.5, 3.1 and 3.1 per 1,000 births, compared with a national average of 4.1.