Doctor ‘completely vindicated’ over death of baby at Cavan hospital

A doctor at the centre of an investigation into the death of a baby boy following

birth at Cavan General Hospital in November 2012 has been "completely vindicated in his assertion that fair procedures had not been followed by the HSE," the High Court was told yesterday.

Dr Salah Abdel-Aziz Ahmed was granted a High Court order permanently restraining the HSE from publishing a report on an investigation "into the incident at Cavan General Hospital" and quashing the report, its findings and recommendations.

While not conceding liability, the HSE told the court it had agreed, following talks, that the report should be quashed. The HSE had agreed to direct a new inquiry by a different legal team and had undertaken to pay all of Dr Aziz’s costs.

Simon Mills, counsel for Dr Aziz, told Mr Justice Kevin Cross his client was delighted his position had been vindicated completely and did not now intend to take further legal proceedings relating to the report.

Dr Aziz, a consultant obstetrician at Cavan General Hospital, had been early last month granted an order temporarily restraining publication or further dissemination of the report by the HSE.

The court had heard that a copy of the report into Jamie Flynn’s death had already been provided to his parents Fiona Watters and Francis Flynn, Navan, Co Meath.

‘Adverse incidents’

Jamie’s death was one of three deaths termed “adverse incidents” relating to childbirth at the hospital over a two-year period. Two of the deaths occurred in April this year.

An inquest into the child’s death had heard allegations that Dr Aziz had delayed an emergency Caesarean section due to the unavailability of nursing staff for the operating theatre at the time.

Jamie was born shortly before midnight on November 22nd, 2012 and transferred to the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin, where he died two days later.

On August 9th last the HSE had announced that the final report, carried out by a team from the National Maternity Hospital, Dublin, had been received and passed on to the family.

The investigation had been ordered to establish facts leading up to the birth while identifying any key causal factors that may have contributed to the loss of life.