HSE slammed for handling of damning report on decomposing corpses at Waterford hospital
Exclusive: A review revealing that management had known for seven years about bodies being kept in unrefrigerated conditions was not shared with the hospital or Department of Health
The HSE has been criticised for its handling of a damning report on mortuary services at University Hospital Waterford after it emerged that neither the hospital nor the Department of Health received a copy of the document when it was completed.
The report was commissioned by hospital management in 2019 following claims that decomposing corpses had been kept on trolleys in corridors, leaking bodily fluids onto the floor. At the time, health authorities said there was “no evidence” to substantiate these claims.
The Irish Mirror revealed last week that the report found that management had known that human remains were being stored in unrefrigerated conditions for at least seven years.
The report contained 39 recommendations regarding mortuary services at University Hospital Waterford, but it has now emerged that the document was not forwarded by the HSE to either the hospital or the Department of Health.
READ MORE: Hospital ignored repeated warnings about corpses left on trolleys leaking fluids on floor - report
READ MORE: Dead bodies 'decomposing in corridors' of University Hospital Waterford, doctors claim
The scathing report, which criticised management for failing to act in response to repeated ‘risk alerts’ dating back to 2007, was submitted to the HSE in May 2021.
However, the then the general manager of UHW told Sinn Féin health spokesman David Cullinane in a letter in answer to a Dail Question in October 2022 that “to the best of my knowledge”, the mortuary services review was not completed.
Separately, the Department of Health confirmed last week that it had only received a copy of the report this year – after it was asked about its contents by the Irish Mirror.
The report also criticised hospital management over its engagement with the independent review group, in relation to documentation concerning a complaint that bodies were leaking fluids on corridors in 2019.
The review group complained about this to the HSE and were told to report directly to it instead of hospital management as a result. The group was also told that an "internal examination" would be carried out in relation to the complaint.
The HSE declined to comment when asked about the outcome of this internal examination. It also declined to respond to questions about the handling of the report, and why it was not forwarded to management or the department.
Mr Cullinane described the lack of transparency and accountability in the handling of the report as “shocking”, and called for the minister for health to answer questions as to why the report had not been forwarded to either the hospital or the Department of Health.
“In October 2022, I tabled a parliamentary question asking about the status of the review. I was told it had not been completed. However, it seems the report was completed 15 months earlier,” he said.
“This raises very serious issues about due process, accountability and transparency. The purpose of a review is to establish facts, make recommendations and report to senior decision makers. What is the point in commissioning a review if it does not achieve its objectives?
He added that the HSE and minister must, firstly, publish the report and, secondly, answer questions as to why it was not forwarded to the appropriate authorities.
“The lack of transparency and accountability in this instance is shocking. The wider recommendations in the report must be published and implemented in full.”
A spokesperson for the HSE said: “The purpose of the review into the mortuary services at UHW was to provide assurance around compliance with best practice, health and safety and legislative requirements for the day-to-day management and the governance and oversight of the facility from both a clinical and non-clinical perspective and to ensure that the facility is safe and satisfactory for use by deceased, relatives, staff and other key stakeholders.
“During the review process, the review group worked in collaboration with the hospital to implement a range of short term improvements to the overall facility and the day to day functioning of the mortuary service,” they said.
“Additional recommendations set out in the review have been addressed by the construction of the new facility and the hospital continues to monitor and improve its mortuary and pathology service.”
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