The head of the Health Service Executive has delivered an “unequivocal” apology on behalf of the organisation and confirmed that an independent review will be carried out into the case of a couple who ended a pregnancy after being wrongly informed that their healthy baby boy had a fatal foetal condition.
Rebecca Price and Pat Kiely were advised that a blood screening test taken when Ms Price was 12 weeks pregnant with their first child in early 2019 indicated a positive result for Trisomy 18, a rare and severe genetic disorder also called Edwards’ Syndrome, reports RTE.
A follow-up rapid polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test carried out in a laboratory in Glasgow also returned a result indicating Trisomy 18 had been found.
Ms Price and Mr Kiely said they accepted the guidance of their consultant and proceeded with a termination in March 2019, reports RTE.
Subsequent full cell culture testing later confirmed that the baby did not have the disorder.
In 2021, the couple resolved High Court claims against medical consultants at the Merrion Fetal Health Clinic, the National Maternity Hospital, and a Glasgow laboratory, all of whom accepted full responsibility, reports RTE.
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In a statement, HSE CEO Bernard Gloster said he had met with Ms Price and Mr Kiely and expressed 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, reports RTE.
The HSE chief stated that he plans to initiate an independent external review into their case and is finalising the arrangements for this process.
He said he has requested the involvement of the National Maternity Hospital in the review, reports RTE.
“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, reports RTE.
Ms Price and Mr Kiely said they were encouraged by the apology and the plan for an independent review.
“Christopher would now be six years old. It has taken years of extraordinary pain and resolve to reach this point,” reports RTE.
“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,” reports RTE.
In a statement, they said that no apology or investigation had previously taken place, even though the National Maternity Hospital acknowledged 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,” reports RTE.
“We would also like to acknowledge the engagement of Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and her colleagues at the Department of Health,” reports RTE.
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