Local legal firm welcomes the appointment of an external management team at Portiuncula Hospital

Byrne Carolan Cunningham LLP Solicitors has welcomed the appointment of an external management team to oversee and manage maternity services at Portiuncula Hospital over coming months.

The appointment follows external reviews that are being conducted into the delivery of nine babies at Portiuncula Hospital. Six babies delivered in 2024 and one in 2025 had hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) with six referred for neonatal hypothermic treatment, known as neonatal cooling. In addition, two stillbirths occurred at the hospital in 2023.

HIE is essentially the reduction in the supply of blood or oxygen to a baby’s brain before, during or after birth. Therapeutic hypothermia is considered the standard treatment for full-term infants with moderate to severe HIE.

Dolores Gacquin, Medical Negligence Solicitor, Byrne Carolan Cunningham LLP, noted that “a report on maternity services at Portiuncula Hospital was commissioned in 2015 to examine delivery and neonatal care of eighteen babies. That report identified multiple serious failures. A series of measures were implemented at the unit following these reviews. However, a further eight reviews took place into cases of concern between 2019 and 2023. Since late 2023 nine further incidents are under review.

“When a medical accident occurs, it can lead to devastating consequences beyond the immediate harm to patients. In a case of a birth injury there can be far reaching catastrophic implications for not just the baby’s future but for parents and the wider family unit.

“One would hope that the appointment of the external management team will ensure continuous staff training and rigorous patient safety measures translating into tangible improvements.”