The three reports on Savita’s death – the coroner’s inquest, HSE (Health Service Executive) & HIQA (Health Information & Quality Authority) – found that management of sepsis was the real issue, it had absolutely nothing to do with abortion;
The HIQA (Health Information & Quality Authority) found that there was a failure to provide basic elements of patient care, and that Savita’s life could have been saved if missed opportunities had been acted upon.
There were a total of 13 missed opportunities, that, had they been identified and acted upon, “could have resulted in a different outcome”.
Blood test results were not followed up, and a series of signs that indicated Savita’s deterioration were not recognised or acted on.
At the corner’s inquest Dr Susan Knowles stated that Savita did not require a termination when the request was made on Tuesday Oct 23, & Praveen has since stated that he never said it would have saved her life.
Consultant obstetrician Dr Katherine Astbury told the inquest that the reason for checking the heartbeat of the unborn child was to ensure that Savita was not left “sitting around” with a dead foetus, as this could cause sepsis and infection.
However, once Dr Astbury realised that sepsis had set in and that Savita’s life was in danger, she decided to carry out a termination – to deliver the baby – regardless of foetal heartbeat on Wednesday, Oct 24.
HSE Report: http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/713210-hse-report-into-death-of-savita-halappanavar.html
HIQA report: http://static.rasset.ie/documents/news/hiqareport.pdf
The way that the media, especially The Irish Times, rushed to judgement on this has been described as “obscene”. An innocent woman’s death was used to try to drum up support for changes in law at a very politically sensitive time. It was disgusting.
Meanwhile, the case of an Irish woman who bled to death in the back of a taxi in London as a LEGAL, supposedly SAFE abortion has been practically ignored by the media. As was the case of another Irish woman who nearly died following an abortion a couple of years ago, after which the doctor was struck off.
http://www.irishpost.co.uk/news/minister-describes-uk-abortion-death-as-a-tragic-story