Portlaoise Hospital

Sir, – The blame game is really cranking up. The HSE is blaming the Department of Health, politicians, and clinical staff at all levels.

The Department of Health is blaming the HSE and clinical staff.

The Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) is blaming the HSE.

Government politicians are blaming the HSE but not the Department of Health or the Minister.

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Opposition politicians are blaming the current Minister, the former minister, the Department of Health and the HSE.

The current Minister is really blaming nobody but is very concerned about it all. The former minister isn’t available for comment. The Taoiseach thinks it’s all terrible.

Clinical staff are blaming politicians, the HSE and the Department of Health as they brought their concerns repeatedly to the powers that be and were ignored.

HSE chief Tony O’Brien was so incensed a few days ago with “poor care” by some clinical staff that he is hiring an external consultant to look at this aspect. Mr O’Brien doesn’t think he has any questions to answer as he wasn’t chief executive (merely a senior manager) at the time. Mr O’Brien “admits now” that the HSE should have reacted “more strongly” to political decisions that had patient safety implications.

Why didn’t it? That is one obvious question, I would have thought.

Resignations? Hardly likely. Is it any wonder that most general practitioners have no interest in becoming part of this “corporate culture”. – Yours, etc,

Dr SHANE CORR,

Carrickmacross,

Co Monaghan.