Ex-senator to chair Tallaght review

The HSE today announced a former senator will chair the review at Tallaght hospital that will investigate the issues of unreported X-rays and unprocessed GP referral letters at the hospital.

In a statement, the HSE said Dr Maurice Hayes had agree to chair the review commissioned by chief executive Prof Brendan Drumm.

Dr Hayes also served for ten years as an independent member of Seanad Éireann (1997-2007) after being nominated by former taoiseach Bertie Ahern. However, he has spent most of his life working in the public service in Northern Ireland, where his posts have included permanent secretary, Department of Health and Social Services, and Northern Ireland Ombudsman.

Dr Hayes was also the first chairman of the Northern Ireland Community Relations Commission, a member of the Human Rights Commission and a member of the Patten Commission on Policing.

It was also announced Patricia Gordon has agreed to be the project director for the review. Ms Gordon is the Director of The Multiple Sclerosis Society in Northern Ireland.

The review will be supported by a steering group that will include a GP, patient advocate and a radiologist. It will also be supported by a working group. These teams are currently being assembled, the HSE said.

Dr Hayes expects the review to report in about three months, and its terms of reference will be published next week.

Earlier this week, it was announced the board of management at Tallaght hospital will be reduced under new reforms. The 22-person hospital board met on Monday night for the first time since it emerged that almost 58,000 X-rays taken over a four-year period were never reviewed by a consultant radiologist while thousands of GP letters were left unopened.

Under the reforms the board of management at Tallaght hospital will consist of ten members including external representatives from patients' groups and the business community.

The board also agreed to fundamental changes to management structures to include the new post of director of quality and it opted to retain PricewaterhouseCoopers to make formal recommendations on the size and structure of the hospital board.

Tallaght GP and TCD public health specialist Prof Tom O’Dowd, who first raised concerns about the issues last April, has called on the board’s chairman, Lyndon MacCann, to consider his position following the disclosures.