The HSE issues unreserved apology over Mayo woman's treatment in her local hospital
A CORONER today returned a verdict of misadventure in the death of a 48-year- old woman who died at Mayo University Hospital (MUH) Castlebar, in October 2016 after being treated for severe back pain.
Mr. Patrick O’Connor, Coroner for Mayo, returned the misadventure verdict in the case of Ann Marie O’Brien, a mother of four, from Windsor, Castlebar.
Ms. O’Brien attended MUH on two separate occasions on the week before she died complaining of back pain. She was not admitted on either occasion and was sent home with painkillers.
At today’s inquest and at a previous hearing it was outlined that Ms.O’Brien had a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other conditions including ischaemic disease.
Mr. Damian Tansey, solicitor for the O’Brien family, said the hospital knew the deceased had been “screaming with pain” but the hospital decided to discharge her without treating her for a medical rather than an orthopaedic condition.
After being admitted to hospital by ambulance on October 2, 2016, Ms. O’Brien suffered a fatal cardiac arrest.
Family members gave evidence to today’s hearing that Ms. O’Brien was ‘in agony’ when admitted to hospital on September 29, 2016.
“The only way I can describe my mother is that she was in bits," Laura O’Brien, the deceased’s only daughter, told the inquest.
The witness described the way her mother was treated at the hospital as “appalling."
In a deposition, read tearfully, she continued: “The last few days that I had with my mother will stay with me for the rest of my life.
“I don’t understand why the doctors thought it would be okay to discharge her from hospital.
“She did everything she could to be the best possible mother. I am haunted by what happened and I feel that in some way I am to blame because I did not insist that my mother be kept in the hospital on the 29th. I will never have peace of mind again."
Margaret Whelan, a sister of the deceased, gave evidence of ‘tension’ in the busy ward on September 29.
She elaborated: “I was horrified at the way Ann Marie was being treated. I had never seen anything like it. She was in absolute agony.”
Dr. Omotunde Sanni, locum registrar in emergency medicine at MUH, told the inquest that his feelings were that painkillers were the appropriate treatment for Ms. O’Brien’s back pain.
At 4.30 a.m., he said, he had a conversation with Ms. O’Brien while she was in a wheelchair in a corridor. He repeated to her that she had to attend her GP for a referral to an orthopaedic clinic.
After the coroner returned a verdict of misadventure, Ms. Sasha Louise Gayer, senior counsel (for the HSE) read an ‘unreserved apology’ from the Saolta Hospital Group to the O’Brien family expressing ‘deepest regret and sadness” for the way their mother had been treated.
High Court proceedings have been issued by legal representatives for the O’Brien family against the Saolta Hospital Group for the manner in which their relative was treated.