LUH apologises to mother over treatment of her child’s remains following premature death

A letter of apology has been issued by Letterkenny University Hospital to a mother whose baby’s remains were stored in a room on the gynaecology ward for four weeks after his premature death.
RTÉ’S This Week programme revealed that the hospital has apologised for failing the Donegal woman in misleading her, after she was given incorrect information about the location of her child’s remains and preventing her from attending the burial.
The woman is now calling for hospitals across Ireland to ensure that the bodies of babies are treated appropriately prior to being buried and that parents are given full information about the burial process and the treatment their babies’ remains.
The Donegal woman, known as Lisa gave birth to her baby, Eoin in October 2016.
The baby died in the womb as a result of complications arising from a rare condition known as Turner’s syndrome.
RTÉ’s This Week programme has revealed that following Eoin’s premature death his body had been left in a room in the gynaecology ward.
It is believed that the mother was told she could not attend the burial of her son “for private and confidential reasons”.
A letter of apology issued by Letterkenny University Hospital read: “We are sorry that you were failed by Letterkenny University Hospital in relation to the burial of your son, Eoin, and that this was not carried out in the timescale and manner agreed with you. Unfortunately and sadly we cannot change that. We can and will, however, ensure that baby Eoin’s legacy will be that this does not ever happen again.”
Speaking to RTÉ, Lisa says she doesn’t want anybody else to suffer the way they have and continue to suffer.
A statement issued on behalf of Letterkenny University Hospital – Saolta University Health Care Group reads:
Due to patient privacy, we cannot discuss individual patients with the media.
We would like to take this opportunity to apologise again to the patient and her family for any distress caused.
We have already revised our systems and are currently reviewing our policies for patient information and consent so as to ensure that we are in line with best international practice.