Savita Halappanavar’s consultant obstetrician has admitted there were a number of system failures in her care at Galway University Hospital, where the 17-week pregnant Indian dentist died last October.
Dr Katherine Astbury told the ongoing inquest into Savita’s death at Galway Courthouse in Ireland that she was unaware of blood test abnormalities, adding that the patient’s vitals should have been checked more regularly after her foetal membrane ruptured.
According to Irish media reports, coroner Ciaran Macloughlin then asked her if these aspects of Savita’s care could be seen as system failures. “Yes,” Dr Astbury replied.
Savita, 31, had delivered a stillborn baby daughter on October 24 and died four days later of a heart attack caused by septicaemia due to E Coli.
Dr Astbury, who is accused of refusing her pleas for a termination because “Ireland is a Catholic country”, said she had refused as there was no risk to her life.
“She was well. There was no risk to her life. If you need to give somebody medication to deliver and there’s a foetal heartbeat, my understanding is that legally you are considered to be terminating,” she said during her cross-examination, when she also denied making the Catholic reference.
“No, I did not mention religion I did say I cannot terminate in this country because the foetus is still alive,” she said. The consultant also told the inquest that the couple’s baby had six toes on each foot. PTI
Meanwhile, earlier during the ongoing hearing a midwife working on the ward where Savita was treated had claimed that additional entries were made to her medical notes during an internal hospital inquiry.
In her evidence, staff midwife Miriam Dunleavey said entries were put into the medical notes by the hospital’s internal investigation set up in the wake of an uproar over Savita’s death. The coroner raised questions as to the appropriateness of this action.
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