Mother's death leads to KGH maternity review
A COMPLETE review of maternity services at Kerry General Hospital (KGH) is to be undertaken following the death of mother after childbirth at the hospital at the weekend.
The HSE review was announced after 34-year-old Triona Cuddy died immediately after the birth of her child in KGH on Sunday morning.
Her baby boy remains in a critical condition and relatives are maintaining a round the clock vigil at the infant's bedside as they attempt to come to terms with their loss.
A post-mortem was performed by the coroner on Monday afternoon though, as yet, no cause of death has been announced.
While the HSE are declining to make any comment on the circumstances of Triona Cuddy's death, following a request by her family for privacy, hospital sources said they don't believe negligence was a factor in the tragic death. Gardaí, who attended to the scene in KGH in order to prepare a file for the coroner, a matter of course in such incidents, said they would not be launching any criminal investigation into the tragedy.
The exact circumstances of Triona Cuddy's death are likely to remain unknown until the HSE review is released (a copy will be provided to state health watchdog the Health Information and Quality Authority) and details of the coroner's examination are heard at an inquest.
As of yet no details of who will head the HSE's internal enquiry have been announced though in such cases senior personnel from outside the HSE area involved are usually appointed.
The enquiry will involve a thorough inspection of practices at the maternity unit and all staff involved in Triona Cuddy's admission and care will be interviewed.
Death following childbirth remains rare in Ireland, which has one of the lowest rates of maternal mortality internationally, currently standing at two per 100,000 births.
Triona Cuddy, originally from Portlaoise, was 34 when she died and had spent the past year living at Cois Chnoic, Dingle. She worked as a checkout operator in Garvey's Super Valu in the town. She also worked parttime as a beautician in Tralee. Her partner, from Wales, works as a barman in Dingle. The infant boy, who remains in critical condition at KGH, is the couple's first child.
Her co-workers were said to be extremely shocked.
Garvey's Super Valu manager Richard Quaid described her co-workers as "numb" following news of Triona Cuddy's untimely death: "She was a lovely bubbly person and was very popular," he said "Everyone here is shocked and there's a feeling of numbness in everyone. It's sad and we pass our heartfelt sympathies to her family and partner."
- SIMON BROUDER sbrouder@kerryman.ie
