Sinn Féin’s David Cullinane has called for an investigation into why HSE re-hired the doctor linked to an organ-retention scandal.
He also said that Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and the Government must “get its act together” and tackle scandals in the health service.
An RTÉ Investigates programme to be broadcast on Thursday evening will reveal how recently bereaved parents discovered that their deceased baby’s organs were retained without their knowledge or consent.
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The programme will state that retired pathologist Dr John Gillan, also known as Consultant A, was rehired by the HSE on an “ad-hoc” basis to carry out post-mortems on deceased babies over a decade after he was removed from his post in 2007.
An investigation into the Rotunda Maternity hospital in Dublin found he was retaining babies' organs for far longer than other hospitals.
RTÉ has now suggested that Dr Gillan is facing new complaints over retaining the organs of babies without the knowledge of their grieving parents.
Mr Cullinane, who is Sinn Féin’s spokesperson, said that the HSE and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly must explain why this doctor was rehired.
“What I would say to the [health] minister and the Government is that they need to start getting their act together on these issues,” Mr Cullinane said.
“There has been bad planning. [They are] very slow to respond to all of these crises in health.
“It's a really serious issue and we can't continue with this type of situation.
“We need answers in the first instance as to why Consultant A was rehired on an ad hoc basis.
“Who was that person accountable to? What were the accountability mechanisms and the governance mechanisms in place?
“It seems again, there was clear failures and families will want answers.
“The Minister for Health has to provide those answers.”
Mr Cullinane said that an independent review of the situation is needed, but warned that the “buck stops with the HSE but also the Minister for Health”.
Bereaved Kildare parents Chelsea Brereton and Jamie Dunne will tell RTÉ Investigates that they delivered a stillborn baby named Mason in April 2020.
The couple was supportive of a post-mortem but were opposed to organ retention.
In December 2021, almost two years after Baby Mason's death, they received a call from Portlaoise Hospital stating that the baby’s organs were ready for collection. The couple later discovered their baby’s brain, left lung and intestines had been retained without their knowledge.
Baby Mason’s post-mortem was performed by Dr John Gillan.
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