Statement issued by hospital re Independent Review Report Investigation into the removal of the wrong kidney from a patient
23 Oct 2008

STATEMENT

ISSUED BY

Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin

Independent Review Report

Investigation into the removal of the wrong kidney from a patient

23 October 2008

The Board of Directors of Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin (OLCHC) can confirm that the Independent Review Report carried out by Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust, London (GOSH) in relation to the removal of the wrong kidney from a patient which occurred at Our Lady’s is complete. The report has been given to the family. GOSH have confirmed that the hospital and all staff involved co-operated fully with the Independent Review.

Our Lady’s takes full responsibility for this tragic error and once again apologises most sincerely to the child and family. The hospital continues to provide the family with support. The family has chosen to continue to have their child cared for at Our Lady’s.

The Board of Directors, having considered the Report, accepts all the recommendations made in the Report and will ensure that the recommendations are implemented.

The Board of Directors are committed, with the family’s agreement, that the learning from this serious error can be shared to improve patient safety in Our Lady’s and all other hospitals/health agencies. To ensure this, the Report is being circulated to several health agencies for consideration including the Department of Health & Children, HSE, HIQA, World Health Organisation, Irish Medical Council, Irish Kidney Association, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and the other children’s hospitals so there will be the widest possible learning from this Report and that it will provide a template to assist with the safety of patients.

With the family’s agreement the Independent Review Report has been made available on the hospital website www.olchc.ie. The report has been anonymised to protect the child’s identity.

In response to this serious error, Our Lady’s has introduced a Correct Site Surgery Policy which addresses a number of the recommendations made in the Report. This policy was subsequently reviewed and approved by the Independent Review Group at GOSH. A copy of the policy has been placed on the hospital website www.olchc.ie so as it can be easily accessed by all health agencies.

As always, if families are concerned about any aspect of the treatment of their child at Our Lady’s, they should contact the clinical team who cares for their child directly at the hospital in the normal way.

The family involved in this case, has requested the hospital to reiterate their appeal to the media to respect their privacy, and do not want any personal publicity. The family particularly do not want any information printed or broadcast in relation to gender, age, medical condition and address of their child. The family plead that the media respect all their wishes so they can protect their child.

Ends.

Editors Note:

Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust (GOSH) is a national centre of excellence in the provision of specialist children's health care, currently delivering the widest range of specialist care of any children's hospital in the UK. It works in partnership with the UCL Institute of Child Health (ICH), part of University College London, and together they form the largest paediatric research and teaching centre in the UK.