THE MOTHER of a late Cystic Fibrosis patient has released an independent report into the conditions at Waterford Regional Hospital, revealing the atrocious living conditions in which her daughter died.

Philomena Lawlor, whose daughter Tracie died in the hospital in November 2006, commissioned the report – details of which are published in today’s Irish Daily Mail.

The report, compiled by who the Mail describes ‘top UK doctor’ Dr Steven Philip Conway, reveals that Lawlor was left in a cramped ward “with blood-stained medical trays and urine-soaked bathroom floors”.

Her mother had come into her daughter’s ward every day to wash her bedside locker, hand-basin and bathroom floor – in order to safeguard Tracie from the “appalling” conditions.

Tracie had regularly pleaded to be allowed a transfer to St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin, where there were Cystic Fibrosis consultants on staff, though her requests were turned down.

Philomena told the Mail that she “would have done murder if the poeple in question were standing beside me when I read it [the report]… I would tell the parents of any CF patient going into hospital to trust their instincts. It’s your child’s life you’re talking about.”

She added:

I have regretted not pushing for her to be moved ever since [Tracie died]. It was the biggest mistake of my life. I listened to the doctors when I should have trusted my own motherly instincts and got her out of there.

The HSE told the newspaper it had received the report and would review it.