Following a thorough inquest into the death of Eilis Cronin Walsh, a 49-year-old mother of four from Ballina, Co Mayo, a verdict of medical misadventure was given. Ms Cronin Walsh passed away at St Vincent’s hospital in Dublin, eight days post an elective surgery that involved the removal of her pancreas, gall bladder, and spleen.
The inquest brought attention to the fact that significantly abnormal results from a blood test on the day of her death were not instantly communicated to Ms Cronin Walsh’s medical team. Despite two calls from the hospital laboratory to her ward going unanswered, no additional attempts were made to establish contact. The laboratory was only a five minutes walk distance from the ward.
Surgeon Donal Maguire suggested that the test results revealed that Ms Cronin Walsh was suffering from an internal bleed. Had her medical team been informed timely, urgent attention could have been given. This lapse in communication regarding the abnormal results contradicted the protocol then in use and has now prompted a review and implementation of new procedures.
The test results had become available after midday on Sunday, October 17th, 2021. However, seven hours elapsed before these results were brought to the attention of the medical team by a nurse who decided to access the hospital system to review them. Immediately upon receiving this information, measures were taken to treat Ms Cronin Walsh. Despite these efforts, she was pronounced dead shortly after 9pm.
Mr Maguire speculated that the blood results pointed towards a minor internal bleeding incident that had occurred the previous evening, but no alarming changes in blood pressure or pulse were detected. On the Sunday, however, Ms Cronin Walsh collapsed, presumably after enduring a severe internal bleed due to an artery rupture, an event that was not predicted. An array of factors, such as abdominal infection and leakage of pancreatic enzymes, may have led directly to the rupture.
During questioning from Lawyer Joe Brolly, who represents the family, Mr Maguire admitted that by the time he was informed on Sunday, it was already “too late”.
James Walsh, the spouse of the late Eilis, recalled how his son Kyle and he visited her on Saturday, October 16th. They found her in a highly frail state. As Mr. Walsh recounts, prior to them leaving, Eilis expressed her belief that she wasn’t going to survive. Despite his reassurances of her gaining strength every day, she disagreed citing her own body was signalling her impending death. That was the last thing she communicated to him.
Caoimhe Daly, the lawyer for the hospital, took the opportunity to extend an honest apology for the lapses in care that took place post Ms Cronin Walsh’s surgery, recognising the toll on the family. Ms Daly explained to Coroner Aisling Gannon that ‘medical misadventure’, while it did not place blame, was an apt judgement for an unintentional result from a purposed action. Ms Gannon, affirming medical misadventure, stated the surgery was the planned action in question.
Outside the court, the deceased’s son, Kevin Walsh said the family accepted the hospital’s apology and acknowledged the adaptations made since his mother’s passing. “It’s my deepest hope that no other family must undergo such an ordeal,” he said, remembering his mother as a phenomenal mum and an exceptional person. “It is heart-wrenching to witness such a beautiful soul depart so early,” he added.