Varadkar: Parents who lost children ‘were not dealt with honestly’

The Minister for Health Leo Varadkar has admitted that the parents of babies who died at the Midlands Hospital in Portlaoise were lied to when they asked whether the death of their child was an isolated incident.  Speaking on RTÉ's This Week programme, the Minister said:

"It’s not just appalling for those parents who were not dealt with honestly. It is also particularly worrying because what we need is a health service culture where … everyone who could actually make a mistake, to understand the value of open disclosure.

The Minister also revealed that a new steering group is to be set up to implement the recommendations of the latest HIQA report into the deaths:

“It will be done by me, within my Department. We will also include a patient representative on that committee and we will make sure that the recommendations are implemented,” he said.

The Minister previously assured Irish people that Ireland's maternity hospital are safe.