A NEW REVIEW of maternity care at Portiuncula Hospital has been launched following the death of a baby in recent weeks, the HSE has said.

This latest investigation brings the total number of ongoing independent reviews into the Galway hospital’s maternity and neonatal services to ten.

Since 2024, seven babies born in the hospital had hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE), an injury where oxygen or blood flow to the brain is cut off.

These incidents resulted in six of those babies being referred for neonatal hypothermic treatment.

Additionally, two stillbirths that occurred in 2023 are also being examined through external reviews.

None of the external reviews, nine of which were announced in January, have been completed to date.

A spokesperson for HSE West and North West said today that an external management team remained in place at the hospital to “oversee all elements of maternity and neonatal care”.

“The team are working closely with the Women and Children’s Network in the region and the local maternity unit to ensure quality and safety in the service,” the spokesperson said.

“There are a number of independent, external reviews being carried out into the care provided to women and their babies in PUH and we expect a number of these to be completed shortly.”

The spokesperson stated that the findings of each review would be provided to the families involved once the review is finished.