The parents of a baby girl who was stillborn at Portiuncula University Hospital in Co Galway in 2008 have described their devastation at news of a fresh review at the hospital.
Lorraine Reilly described her devastation upon hearing news of the high rate of brain injury referrals at the hospital.
Her baby daughter Asha was stillborn at the hospital in 2008, while her second daughter Amber was also born at Portiuncula in 2010, but died a week later at Holles St.
"Today, I have spent half of the morning crying. I am absolutely devastated over it," she said.
Speaking on RTÉ's News At One, she added: "I am devastated for the families involved now. I just can't believe that it's happening again."
The HSE has ordered the reviews into the deliveries of nine babies, including two who were stillborn, after it reported that the rate of referrals for brain injuries at the hospital last year was higher than would have been expected.
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The hospital said seven babies have had Hypoxic Ischaemic Encephalopathy (HIE) since last year, resulting in six of them being referred for neonatal hypothermic treatment, also referred to as neonatal cooling.
The HSE's Regional Executive Officer for HSE West and North West said the hospital had around 1,300 births last year and would expect to have one or two cases of HIE referred on average.
"There's clearly something wrong with the way things are in Portiuncula"
It is understood that the latest reviews into the deliveries of the nine babies will be completed by the end of next month.
HSE Saolta Health Care Group, which has responsibility for Portiuncula Hospital, said it wrote to Lorraine and Warren Reilly following an RTÉ Investigates report into the hospital in 2017, to apologise "unreservedly and fully for the failures of care delivered to Lorraine that contributed to the likely preventable deaths of Asha and Amber".
Mr Reilly questioned whether the facility is equipped for anything to go wrong "other than a straightforward birth".
"There's clearly something wrong with the way things are in Portiuncula.
"My feeling is they're fine when everything goes well but when things don't go well, they just can't handle."
Ms Reilly described how she and Warren were involved in the implementation board for a previous report carried out at the hospital, known as the Walker Report, which was published in 2018.
The report, which was commissioned by the HSE in 2015, reviewed 18 perinatal events which occurred at the hospital between 2008 and 2014.
It included criticism of the way many families were communicated with during or after their time in hospital.
The report highlighted several key issues including delays in escalation of concerns to more senior decision makers and deficits in staff numbers across both medical and nursing.
It also raised concerns over the births of six babies who were referred for neonatal hypothermic treatment.
Ms Reilly said all of the recommendations of the report were implemented and has been told that they are still implemented.
"I can't understand how this has happened again. It's just devastating," she said.
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A review of the death of their daughter Amber took place in 2011, following a request from the coroner.
However, the parents were not told about the review and were not involved in the review process.
They only learned of the review into their daughter's death after media reports of an investigation in 2015 into serious deficiencies in maternity care at the hospital.
Mr Reilly said his main concern is for families who are going through recent losses and recent damage to their children and families.
He called for those carrying out reviews to listen to the families affected.
"Listen to the families because I can tell you from our experience, you know every single detail that you have seen or witnessed or been affected by.
"That's the detail that really uncovers what’s going on, but it can't be just to look at one case or five cases."
Mr Reilly also called for the review to listen to all members of staff and called for a systematic review.
"Listen carefully, not just to the supposed experts, but listen carefully to the staff at all levels not just at consultant level but midwives, nurses, anyone who is involved in the care process.
"Obviously they can see patterns that other people can't see.
"It needs a systematic review clearly at this stage," he added.
