The Ombudsman and Information Commissioner has ordered the Health Services Executive (HSE ) to pay €5,000 in compensation to the family of a woman who died while her test results were left lying unopened in a hospital’s typing pool.
The compensation is to be paid because of the unacceptable delay in the examination of a complaint made by the woman’s family following her death.
The 53-year-old mother of two had been a public patient attending Mayo General Hospital but died four days after undergoing lung function tests in Merlin Park Hospital in Galway in December 2004.
She died of pulmonary hypertension, a rare blood vessel disorder of the lung.
The test results were sent by ordinary post to a consultant gastroenterologist at Mayo General but they remained unopened in the typing pool and placed in a slot for his attention. Ten days after the woman’s death her GP rang the hospital for the test results and the consultant’s secretary found them in the typing pool.
Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly published a report of her investigation into the case on Tuesday and said that it highlighted a two-tier system of dealing with patients’ test results depending on whether they were public or private.
However Ms O’Reilly confirmed that there was no evidence to suggest that the woman’s death could have been prevented if the test results were acted on earlier.
The report did raise concerns regarding the serious administrative deficiencies in Mayo General Hospital when dealing with post.
Ms O’Reilly also found that the HSE failed to effectively respond to a complaint by the woman’s family.
