We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
THE HEAD OF the HSE has said he is satisfied that the reporting of Covid-19 cases from the Mater Hospital in Dublin complied with legal requirements, despite an anomaly which emerged earlier this week.
It follows controversy surrounding the delay of the official publication of some 244 cases at the hospital dating back to mid-March until Thursday.
However, the Chief Medical Officer clarified that the number of cases each day was small, never going above ten, but that the numbers were accumulated and were reported as one group.
In a subsequent statement, the Mater claimed it has reported all cases of Covid-19 positive results to the relevant authorities on a daily basis.
And speaking at today’s weekly HSE briefing, the executive’s CEO Paul Reid told reporters that when he became aware of the situation, he asked Chief Clinical Officer Dr Colm Henry to complete an investigation to “establish the facts of the matter”.
Reid said he has since received a draft outline report of the investigation, and that despite concerns, he has been “specifically reassured” about the circumstances which led to the anomaly.
However, although he said that he would not release full details to allow due process to continue in the investigation, Reid did provide some information.
He noted that the reporting of Covid-19 cases to health authorities is a statutory legal requirement, but said that in the case of the Mater Hospital, the “information furnished clearly demonstrates that the legal requirement was met”.
Reid further noted that contact tracing in relation to the cases involved has been completed.
But he said that information submitted to labs at some stage in the process “did not have the full details”, particularly all the names of these cases.
Cónal Thomas / TwitterHSE CEO @Paulreiddublin says he's reassured that "all data was passed for contact tracing to commence" in Mater Hospital cases.
— Cónal Thomas (@ConalThomas) May 17, 2020
The issue related to how Data was uploaded to the CIDR lab reporting system.
“Therefore it didn’t allow us a complete correlation of the data at the appropriate time,” Reid said.
HSE’ Chief Clinical Officer Dr Colm Henry will now seek assurances from hospitals that their Covid-19 data is being submitted with full details.
Reid added that the health service’s final report would make “very clear recommendations in this regard”.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
In other words- the hospital did its job. We didn’t.
HSE is not fit for purpose.
@Fabio Dillon: actually that is not what was said. Loo again. The hospital complied but left details off which would have caused the delay and accumulation
@Brendan Greene: I actually understood it as The Mater having reported details correctly but that some of these details were not subsequently passed: “But he said that information submitted to labs at some stage in the process “did not have the full details”, particularly all the names of these cases.” ?
@Brendan Greene: nope
@Fabio Dillon: who submits the information to labs?
@Brendan Greene: it say labs didn’t have full details to input.. In other words he said she said in years to come this will be another investigation costing millions
@michelle murphy: Called making it up as you go along.
Is Paul Reid really asking us to trust what the HSE says…..them,government banks church and other big institutions husband information to suit their own interests…..
Why should we believe them this time…….
@David cotter: don’t forget to add Big Pharma. No rant is complete without a poke at the pharmaceutical industry.
Why is it always about looking for someone to blame?
@Logan Shepherd: It’s about trying to understand what went wrong so it doesn’t happen again
@Logan Shepherd: Because there has to be someone accountable. Why would you not want to know this?
@Logan Shepherd: Perhaps a brief explanation would suffice. It’s not too much to ask for the Mater Hospital to explain exactly what happened and he then, briefly, relay that to the media.
When we get the usual “everything was done legally and a full report will follow… eventually” it does nothing to reassure, it instead raises more suspicions. This behaviour of deferring releasing a report on the matter until it’s hopefully forgotten about conjures even more mistrust, and fools nobody.
@Ian Breathnach: There is a difference between playing the blame game and holding someone accountable.
@Arch Angel: I agree with you. And in that context, playing the blame game does nothing to ensure transparency. It’s more likely to keep relevant facts hidden.
@Ian Breathnach: Accountability within the HSE? That’s the best one I heard in a good while.
@Arch Angel: the investigation is ongoing.
@Logan Shepherd: Imm because someone is!!!
@Darren Byrne: Yes, the HSE are brilliant at that line, ” learn lessons so it does not happen again” . That has been drummed out on many occasions over the past three or four years , but apparently NO Lessons are ever learned . HSE fairly poor of the breaking ball, always slow to pick up .
“The Mater will be investigated” the caretaker Taoiseach and his 19th Covid Health Minister chuckled. #notMyTaoiseach.
@Peter McGlynn: I suggest you have a look at the constitution. It’ll clear up a lot of your factual errors for you.
@Peter McGlynn: what Taoiseach did you vote for.
@Daniel Roche: He didn’t vote for a taoiseach. That vote is made by elected members of the Oireachtas.
@John Byrne: slow clap just for you
My daughter got the virus in mid March, she was told by her doctor over the phone. No one from the h s e contacted her to this day
All the people she was in contact with were not traced and told to sell quarantine.
@Danny Flynn: cool story bro
@Danny Flynn: My niece got the virus in mid March, she too was told by her Doctor over the phone.
No-one from the HSE needed to contact her to this day.
All the people she was in contact with were traced & told… by my niece.
She used her initiative rather than relay & rely on the same message being sent through a third party.
No probs.
Someone’s fiddling with the numbers for some reason. Spin, popularity, funding or is it just to be best in the class?
@Robert Moore:
Zero evidence to indicate that’s the case, but go ahead.
@Robert Moore: yeah, this has made everyone very popular and everyone has had their reputation enhanced by it.
I suppose that people can only surmise when you’re relying on truth and transparency from government,HSE, etc. So will do.
@Robert Moore: except that’s not what you did. You saw “numbers wrong” then jumped to a conclusion that goes against the fact that a) all numbers have been amended by those you’re claiming are fiddling them b) this makes all involved look bad
@Dave O’Keeffe: You know that is what these accusations are meant to do. Instead it makes those who make them look biased and unable to decipher the truth
If you look at our recovery rate compared to our infection numbers; we’re doing very well. There are a whole manner of outlying issues for some inconsistencies in reporting. But I think it’s wrong to make too much of a story out of it.
Did it ever emerge why on one single day there were nearly 200 ‘possible’ deaths reported alongside the usual announcement, but that term was not used any other day?
@Unconvertible Rebel: They were called probable deaths and the bulk of them have been retracted since once testing was completed properly. Basically anyone dying with a cough and a fever was considered “probable” covid deaths, that’s exactly the day that I lost all respect for Holohan.
@Mark Malone: why? Becaise he stated it exactly as it was and then revised downwards on conformation. What you’ve described is perfect work.
@Mark Malone: Houdini , pull them out of the hat job.
We are been lied to left right and centre about this covid19 the truth will come out sometime
We live in a digital world full of automation and digital solutions. There should be no room for human error, delay in reporting or whatever this guy is trying to describe..
@Wreck Tangle: human take the tests, humans transport the swabs,human perform the tests,humans collate the information…no room for human error?
@Paul Murphy:
What a boring response.. Human error around administration can be removed. What certainly shouldn’t be able to happen is that a couple of hundred results go unaccounted for.
Am I the only one who read Reid’s statement and was none the wiser after it?
Scamdemic
Am confused, thought he said it was a hospital in the south that got the figures wrong?
So the town I am from has a meat processing plant . On Monday and Tuesday all employees were tested and in total 87 people were positive. It’s not a big town so everyone obviously is concerned. So that day we were expecting big numbers from the daily press conference and there was but then they said it was the hospital .
@Mairead Mc Carthy: and obliviously some of the 87 have families and they have been tested and some of them have been positive also . So it feels like there is a lot of it around .
@Mairead Mc Carthy: the hill?
@Mairead Mc Carthy: I agree HSE could not lie straight in bed. He didn’t want to mention the words ” Meat factories” !! when the Gov won’t stand up to the huge scandle of meat factory owners half running the country through the Gov. All rotten to the core. Hospitals rented from them too. Covney related. They chose the Factory owners over the farmer at the gates and you wonder why with your local knowledge Mairead , and you knowing how many tested positive locally the the CMO read the increase out as a hospital. People are not stupid.
@Declan Martin Rigney: Edenderry
@Mairead Mc Carthy: o. Watergrasshill is the same in cork so. Keepak factory
Systems failure
HSE speak for nobody will be held accountable…
O K , So who got it wrong , if the Hospital reported the deaths who then slipped up? , HSE fumbling again,? dropping the ball,? win no All Ireland’s at that craic.
Why not standard procedure? I missed that bit
Remember this when it comes to the HSE
have your say