The CEO of the Health Service Executive has issued an “unequivocal” apology on behalf of the organisation and has said an independent review will take place into the case of a couple who agreed to have a termination after being wrongly advised that their healthy baby boy had a fatal foetal abnormality.
Rebecca Price and Pat Kiely were told that a blood test when Ms Price was 12 weeks’ pregnant with their first child in early 2019 was positive for Trisomy 18, a serious and rare genetic disorder, also known as Edwards’ Syndrome.
A further rapid result polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test carried out in a Glasgow laboratory also showed Trisomy 18 had been detected.
Ms Price and Mr Kiely said they followed the advice of their consultant and had a termination in March 2019.
The results of a full cell culture test showed that the baby did not have the condition.
In 2021, the couple settled High Court actions with medical consultants operating at the Merrion Fetal Health Clinic, the National Maternity Hospital and a Glasgow laboratory admitting full liability.
In a statement, HSE CEO Bernard Gloster said he has met Ms Price and Mr Kiely and offered a “full apology for the devastating loss of baby Christopher following their care at the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street.
“While nobody can undo the harm the Kielys have suffered, it is my strong view, and that of the Minister for Health, whom they have also recently met, that they deserve at least to have this documented and [an] unequivocal apology on behalf of the health service,” Mr Gloster said.
The HSE chief said he intends to begin an independent external review of their case, adding that he was in the process of finalising the details of this review.
He has sought the participation of the National Maternity Hospital in the review, he said.
Watch: ‘I am truly, truly sorry’ – HSE CEO apologises to couple wrongly advised of fatal foetal abnormality
“I recognise that no words or actions can undo the loss suffered by Rebecca and Pat, but I hope the establishment of an independent review will allow us understand what went wrong in relation to their care and learn from it,” he added.
Speaking on RTÉ’s This Week programme, Mr Gloster also apologised for the delay in the apology and the “type of responsiveness” that Ms Price and Mr Kiely have received.
He said the HSE needs to learn from what happened and this is why there will be an independent review
“This case was not examined to a level that it should have been and could have been, and regardless of our incident policies, which themselves require review, and I have them being reviewed.
“This case, absolutely because of the time it happened and because of the way it happened, and because of the passage of time, there can be no other investigation of this case other than an independent one,” Mr Gloster said.
Ms Price and Mr Kiely said they welcomed the apology and the announcement of an independent review.
“Christopher would now be six years old. It has taken years of extraordinary pain and resolve to reach this point.
“Our priority has always been to understand how this happened, why it happened, and why it seems that established safeguards were not applied to our care.”
In a statement, they said there had never been an apology or an investigation even though the National Maternity Hospital admitted full liability in 2021.
“We will continue to engage constructively with the review process, and our hope is that its findings will improve future care.
“We would also like to acknowledge the engagement of Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and her colleagues at the Department of Health,” the statement concluded.