Not up to them!

A so-called ‘quango’ that the Department of Health forgot. This should have happened from the start. HIQA is independent of the HSE & University Hospital Galway and has statutory powers to hold investigations into the quality and safety of the health services.

How on earth did that fact escape the Department of Health until now?

What if HIQA says “No”?

@Aisling As I understand it, he is refusing access to them as a kind of protest. He wants a public inquiry. Personally, I agree with him, I think the HSE lead one is tarnished and its findings are going to have a cloud over them no matter what happens.

@irish red I agree the hsc are tarnished but from what I can make out he doesn’t want anyone !! To disclose the records , I find it strange .

Oh boy
How do you call an enquiry into the reasons behind a Death as “justice”. Do you know something about the outcome of an enquiry that has not been held yet?
While the HSE would normally have an obligation to enquire into all unexpected deaths within the Health Services sometimes it is also of fundamental importance that such enquiries be conducted at arms length. This is one of those occasions when there are two very active lobbies using this case for their own political ends.

There are several enquiries ongoing in relation to this incident, all of them are independent. The Coroners enquiry, the HSE enquiry and HIQA. All independent. All at arms length.

The initial HSE enquiry with staff (who often know each other and work along-side each other) from the very hospital in which they all operate, could not be called “independent” – who are we trying to kid?

THREE of the staff there alone was being asked to investigate their fellow staff in the same building? Independent my backside!

@Gary It is disingenuous to suggest that this is simply an ‘unexpected death’ – there is a lot more involved than that.

Also, before you start berating anyone for making this political bear in mind that it was Praveen Halapanavar who went to the Galway Pro-Chouce group for support and that it is he who has said he is doing this partly so that what happened is made public, that there is legislation and it never happens again. It IS necessarily political because politicians have to be involved to change legislation.

I don’t believe that anyone on these pages would even be satisfied with a sworn Public Enquiry. At the end of the day the purpose of any enquiry should be the circumstances leading up to the death of this young lady and if it was preventable. Anything else will simply be a pandering to the nastiness of both lobbies on an entirely separate matter.

These public enquiries are only an opportunity for lawyers to make tons of money, have we not learnt anything.

Public enquiry means nobody will say anything, in particular the hospital staff.

Hi Peter, Thank you for your postings – they clarify a more accurate situation of the legal side of things than I can portray! Thank you for the clarification RE the public trial – my view is based upon what I have read in Irish media while living abroad, so my views are somewhat skewed! Please keep the posts a-coming – it is important to portray an accurate viewpoint to everyone! Regards, Jim

The medical records do not belong to the patient or the family, they belong to the HSE, that is the same for every patient. Mr Praveen’s permission should not be a requirement. Also I believe that the HSE investigation is still ongoing, no?

@ James. Mr Halappanavar. The man’s first name is Praveen.

It’s the closest to what he is asking for that he will (and should) get. Allowances have been made for some requests, however it is unfeasible to give exactly what he is asking for – time constraints being the primary concern.

@James curious who are you to say what he should and shouldn’t get.The man has clearly expressed he has no confidence in the HSE and is seeking an independant public inquiry.If we can do it for planning surely we can do it for the death of a young woman.

are his motives guided by pro abortion or getting to the truth as quickly as possible. there are so many rumours taken as fact, speculation filling the voids and a campaign war between pro life and pro choice.

this man has lost my respect with overwhelming eagerness attending interviews with the media and ingnore independent inquiries that does

All of these investigations are independent, including the HSE investigation. It is chaired by a completely independent professional, attended by 6 other professionals, all of whom are internationally recognised and critically acclaimed in their chosen fields. A public enquiry will take months to get the truth, if it does at all get the truth, and this man will not be able to move on with his grieving.

James i do not know what this man is thinking so i won’t answer for him.
But what i see is various sections of the same system investigating itself who’s results in my eyes would be dubious at best.Thats just my opinion though.

Are you referring to the coroners investigation? Who by definition is required in so far as is possible, to find the truth regarding circumstances of death.
Or the HSE’s? Which is chaired by a completely independent doctor, who has carried out hundreds of similar investigations all over the world and brought them to a satisfactory ending.
Or HIQA’s? HIQA being the body responsible for closing several nursing homes, hospital wings, and the fact that no intern now works alone at night and is always covered by a more senior doctor.
Do you really think, with all these investigations, that there is a hope of cover up? Or perhaps we should accuse the consultants or the government of interfering with the investigation before we begin, and be done with the whole thing?

@tom. Listening to drivetime yesterday praveen halapannavar went public because in the weeks following his wife’s death the hse did nothing- and apart from his own disbelief he had his dead wife’s parents, back in India wanting to know what happened to their daughter. If I were in his position I would have done the same thing. I would not trust the internal hse enquiry either. The majority of people on the investigating panel are on the hse payroll- how the hell can it be independent?

Tom. The man wants justice for his wife who should not have died. Nothing ‘conspiracy theory’ or sinister about that. Going public was his only option because the hse were doing nothing ( hence the delay in time between her death and him going public). Most people can perfectly understand why he is taking the stand he has and he has the respect of most people in Ireland and beyond.he has my deepest sympathy and I commend his courage.

James Connolly
You are wrong. There is no enquiry at the present time being conducted by the HIQA and the Coroners Court is only there to ascertain the cause of death rather than the event leading up to it. Please let us contribute in this issue with a little more accuracy.

Garry, apologies. I should have said Cause of death, as you are correct, the coroners office does not deal with circumstances. And yes, while HIQA are not yet involved, it would appear that they may yet be, so the rest still stands. J.

@ Irene
Justice will and can only come for the coroner’s inquiry.

I watched the prime time interview and his refusal to take part with independent inquiry, it’s apparent that justice isn’t the issue. By his own admission he is pro-choice and understandably biased.
No one wants any woman to die if it can be prevented and the quickest way to get to the facts is to have an independent inquiry. His demands for a public inquiry on his terms are going too far and without any proof has cast dispersions on the medical team and hospital.
But pro choice is so intertwined with this tragic death and pro life so apposed that it needs to be taken out of the arena before any logic informed conclusion can be drawn from the facts.

@tom. Coroners investigation will not establish events leading to the death of savita. A hse investigation is not independent. How can an organisation investigating itself be indpendent? You stated “are his motives guided by pro abortion or getting to the truth as quickly as possible”. Tom, the man’s wife is dead and she should not be dead. He wants an independent inquiry. Perfectly understandable.

James Reilly, the week this story broke, said there would be an investigation that would stand up to world scrutiny.

An internal investigation conducted by the hse, is quite simply, not good enough.

@tom. Regarding his sentiments re abortion- he has stated he does not want any woman to go through what his wife went through. She was miscarrying her longed for child and wanted a termination to put an end to her suffering. he believes a termination would have saved her life and wants an independent inquiry.

it is his business if he has to pay for a public inquiry that will take much longer.
If there is a flaw in the system or law it needs to be corrected quickly rather than point scoring and pushing an agenda.
The coroners report will be the most important and rightly so.

@tom. The man’s wife died whilst in an Irish public hospital when she should not have died. He is entitled to an inquiry that is indpendent, thorough and funded by the state. A coroner’s investigation, whist important , will establish the cause of death but not the events leading to savita’s death. Additional independent inquiry is required.

How long does a public enquiry take? Not how long should it take, looking at how long public enquiries have taken in Ireland in the past, tell me how long one is going to take? 6 months? A year? 2 years? The result? He may or may not have the answers he’s looking for, depending on how cooperative the relevant bodies are.
HIQA and the coroners court both have legal powers to compel cooperation from those bodies. A public enquiry, as we have seen in the past, does not, and even when it does, cooperation may still not be forthcoming.
This really is the best outcome for Mr Praveen and families. It aims to get the truth quickly and efficiently without dragging on and on for years.
Also, there are serious complications when it comes to the presentation of medical records at a public enquiry.
I didn’t tell Mr Praveen how to bereave, it is never my job to tell someone how to bereave. However, from experience, delayed bereavement is not the desired option.

Michael it’s not just cost its time, if there is a problem it’s better to address it sooner rather than later especially if other women are at risk. Cooperating with a independent inquiry would not rule out a public inquiry at later date if discovered there was a real need for one.
But refusing to cooperate is delaying the facts being made known and I can only presume that this is being done because of his desire to make a martyr of his deceased wife so her death will have some meaning. Its a noble cause but it needs the facts rather then hearsay to turn this into reality.

@james.
Mr Halapannavar. Praveen is his first name.

Apologies. I should correct my own spelling error- mr halappanavar

Sorry meant Savita