A TD has called for the CEO of University Hospital Limerick at the time of 18-year-old Jessica Sheedy's death to face a criminal investigation.
Independent Ireland's Richard O'Donoghue made the remarks in the Dáil today following a Medical Council inquiry into the surgeon who operated on Ms Sheedy from Bruff, Co Limerick, at UHL on 8 May 2018 to remove a large and rare but benign tumour from her abdomen.
She died three days later on 11 May in the hospital's High Dependency Unit after suffering multiple-organ failure from complications which arose during the surgery.
A committee at a fitness-to-practise inquiry this week found that three allegations of professional misconduct and 10 of poor professional performance, made against her surgeon, Dr Ashish Lal, have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Dr Lal had made full admissions in relation to these allegations.
During Leaders Questions today Mr O’Donoghue said it has taken eight years "to bring this where it is today" and he said that people have been put at risk for eight years because of a "cover-up" to "protect Dr Lal".
"I am going to let the courts deal with, on medical grounds, for Dr Lal, for what he has done to the Sheedy family, to her friends, to the wider community," he said.
Mr O'Donoghue said that following two independent inquiries "it’s only now that all the information has come forward".
He added: "By covering it up for eight years how many other people have been seriously injured or have died, under that same management."
'Absolutely unacceptable'
In response, the Taoiseach said it was "absolutely unacceptable" that a family could lose their daughter in such circumstances.
"It seems to me that person should never have proceeded with the operation, should never have been doing the operation. I can't comprehend how that happened."
He said a "benign tumour, should have been a straightforward procedure and then Jessica was taken to intensive care, because it wasn't carried out in an effective manner".
"We learned he did not seek the intervention of a vascular surgeon in a sufficiently timely manner after Jesscia suffered a major blood loss during the procedure and also failing to carry out adequate pre-planning for the procedure," Mr Martin said.
He said this happened in "a major hospital in the country" and "that was what the Fitness to Practise committee heard".
"The Medical Council have issued its findings. Dr Lal has been subject of a number of factual allegations, and he's made full admissions, so they are very, very serious issues here.
"The Medical Council found each of the allegations have been proven beyond reasonable doubt and each amount to a serious failing.
This has to be examined in the most comprehensive way.
"Because questions arise then in light of all of those clinical failings which have resulted in the loss of life of a beautiful young woman. It should never have happened.
"What flows from that then, in terms of the broader workings of the hospital, how a clinician was in a position to undertake a surgery of this kind, in the manner it was taken. Words are no use to the Sheedy family."
Asking for 'help'
Mr O'Donoghue said he was asking for "help" from the ministers for justice and health, who were present in the Dáil chamber.
He said only for Ms Sheedy's family and friends, "this would have been buried for a lot longer".
"Only for the current management of UHL, this would have been buried," Mr O’Donoghue said.
"There has to be accountability for the people that were overseeing the hospital at that time.
"We have to make sure justice prevails. There are no words."
Mr Martin said under the leadership of HSE Chief Bernard Gloster "there has been a welcome change in approach to dealing with situations like this, in terms of apologies being made much more timely".
"Eight years is far too long. "Everybody knew what had happened here. It shouldn’t take eight years for a family to get a sense of accountability in terms of what happened here.
"The objective is to make sure this doesn’t happen again, to some other young person, to some other patient."
