Ireland’s Minister for Health James Reilly has refused to comment after a leak of the draft report into the Savita Halappanavar tragedy which says her request for an abortion should have been considered days before her death in a Galway hospital.
The Evening Herald newspaper has published details from the draft report surrounding the death of the 31-year-old who died of a massive infection seven days after being admitted to hospital.
The paper reports that the investigation set up by Minister Reilly has uncovered a litany of failures.
The draft report alleges that the infection which led to her death was not diagnosed for three days.
The report says the failures included:
- Tests showing possible blood infection on the day Savita was admitted were never followed up by staff.
- Doctors were often too busy caring for other patients to deal immediately with the mum-to-be, whose condition grew progressively worse as time went on.
- To prevent the spread of infection, staff should have considered performing an abortion – even before the couple requested it.
Read more: Similar death to Savita Halappanavar ignored in the mainstream media
The paper adds that on the day she was admitted last October, Savita and her husband Praveen were informed that a miscarriage, the most likely cause of which was infection, was inevitable.
Praveen has confirmed that the couple repeatedly asked for a termination from the following Tuesday.
He says that staff turned down the request, telling the couple that, as a result of the laws governing abortion, their ‘hands were tied;.
The report adds that doctors chose to ‘await events’ and seven days after she was admitted, Savita Halappanavar died.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.Pittsburghkid | Feb 13, 2013, 06:17 PM EST
If she had choice life, then she would still be alive. Woman's bodies were not made for abortion. The uterius was made to give life.
MaxTiger | Feb 13, 2013, 10:26 AM EST
Schlomo, No doctor will perform an abortion because it is against state law, not Catholic teaching. Induction and other medical treatment intended to save the life of the mother is lawful and should have been used in this case. While I agree that our health service is far below where it should be, Savita's doctor was an English woman.
johnshiel | Feb 13, 2013, 10:19 AM EST
tell me again -- forgive my poor memory -- why you love universal healthcare so much???
Schlomo | Feb 13, 2013, 09:02 AM EST
No one should be surprised that 1) Irish medical practice in most PUBLIC hospitals is less that acceptable. Foreign doctors, many who don't comprehend English are given the responsibility for far more medical decions than they should. 2) The Catholic Church makes the rules in Irish Hospitals. And believe me there isn't a doctor (Irish or foreign) who will perform an abortion in any hospital in Ireland......NOW or in 50 years from now despite what the law says. The law is secondary to the ethos of the Catholic churck!