Report says Ennis hospital 'poses risk to patients'

Patients at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Ennis will be exposed to “potential harm” by the continuation of acute services…

Patients at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Ennis will be exposed to “potential harm” by the continuation of acute services in their current form, including emergency services, cancer surgery and critical care, a review into the hospital has said.

An independent inquiry by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) said “change for safety” must happen at the hospital and that some services, including the 24-hour emergency service and acute services must be discontinued "as soon as practicable".

The inquiry was established last year after serious concerns were raised by family members of two patients – the late Ann Moriarty and the late Edel Kelly – about the potential risks to the health and welfare of patients at the hospital.

The Hiqa report published this afternoon said: “It is unsafe to keep the configuration of services at MWRH Ennis as they are and these changes must take place safely and effectively.”

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It said acute, complex and specialist services are “not sustainable” at MWRH Ennis.

“This is because there are not sufficient numbers of patients presenting with these conditions to enable professional healthcare teams to maintain their clinical skills and expertise.

“Continuing these acute services, including acute and complex surgery, cancer surgery, level 2/3 critical care and 24-hour emergency department services, in their current structure, exposes patients to potential harm.”

It said the hospital did not have sufficient volumes of patients attending out of hours to justify emergency department and operating theatre resources being available on a 24-hour basis.

A number of patient safety issues were identified by the authority during the investigation and the HSE was notified. Interim recommendations were made to address these issues, the Hiqa report said.

It said the provision of more staff and resources at MWRH Ennis “will not address the fundamental issue of professional teams maintaining their clinical skills and expertise in the area of surgery, critical care, emergency care, children’s and maternity services”.

In the area of corporate governance at the hospital, the investigation said the “lack of clarity around local accountability and the authority to make decisions means that there is no single person at hospital level who is fully accountable for the quality and safety of services”.

There were also “limited systems in place for effective clinical governance in order to provide the necessary assurance for patients”.

Complaints and claims processes were “not formally integrated” at the hospital and the “outcomes from these processes are not patient focused”.

“These findings are serious issues of patient safety that are at the heart of safeguarding the public and therefore the implementation of these changes is a priority and should not be compromised in the current fiscal climate,” the report added.