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The Executive of the Health Service apologized to the family of a 19-year-old woman who died of a brain hemorrhage after a delay in the organization of a CT scan.
Lisa Niland had arrived by ambulance at Sligo University Hospital after suffering a sudden severe headache and vomiting while at a fast food restaurant three years ago.
Lawyers for her family said she had the “classic symptoms of a brain hemorrhage” but a CT scan was not performed until the next day.
The medical staff had also erroneously reported alcohol consumption, despite the fact that she had not drunk that night.
A serious incident review conducted by the HSE found that a CT scan was not performed on time and the deterioration of his condition was not recognized during the night of January 17, 2017.
Attorneys for the family said Ms. Niland’s life could have been saved had she had a CT scan done earlier.
They said part of the reason for not ordering an emergency scan was because calling a radiographer overnight would affect staffing levels the next day.
Ms. Niland had gone to a fast food restaurant for a smoothie when she developed a severe headache, dizziness, and vomiting.
She was fully alert but in pain when she was treated in the emergency department and later in a ward.
However, his condition worsened overnight and a CT scan performed the next morning showed that he had suffered a brain hemorrhage.
While medical staff informed her family of her condition, she suffered cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated.
She was eventually airlifted to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, where she underwent surgery to relieve pressure on her brain, but she never recovered and died on January 20, 2017.
Her parents and her sister solved their case due to the nervous shock derived from Lisa’s death.
The case went to mediation last week and an apology was issued as part of the settlement. Details of the deal were not disclosed.
Today in Superior Court an apology from the hospital and HSE was read in court to Lisa Niland’s parents, Gerry and Angela from Drimbane, Curry, Co Sligo.
He offered a “sincere apology that the care provided did not meet the expected standard.”
He also acknowledged that the experience had been “devastating” and had a profound and lasting effect on the Niland family.
Outside of court, the family’s attorney Damian Tansey said it was an unspeakable tragedy and that Lisa’s death broke the family apart.
The fact that they now know that she could have been saved had “put salt in their wounds.”
Tansey said that if the hospital’s own procedures had been followed that night, she would have been saved.
He described Ms. Niland as the “pride and joy” of the family and a talented student.
The Serious Incident Review conducted by HSE recommended that the practice of allowing only consultant-to-consultant requests for after-hours CT scans be reviewed.
He also recommended that staff receive specific training in the evaluation of patients with neurological deficits and explore the introduction of what is known as an early warning score in emergency departments within the hospital group.
It also recommended compliance with established transfer practices and strict compliance with drug prescription guidelines.
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