Midwife urges HSE to settle so she can get life-prolonging drug
A midwife who is suing the HSE over being wrongfully accused of malpractice is appealing for her action to be settled so she can access drugs that may save her life.
Philomena Canning, who was the leading independent midwife and homebirth advocate in the State, has terminal cancer and has only weeks to live. She is hoping her life may be prolonged by the immunotherapy drug, Pembro. The drug is available on the public health system to those afflicted with cervical cancer, but Ms Canning is suffering from ovarian cancer.
She was suspended in 2014 and reinstated the following year, but has not practised midwifery since, despite being cleared of any wrongdoing in four separate expert reports, two of which were commissioned by the HSE.
The HSE offered to settle her action in 2015 but Ms Canning refused, as she wanted a full court hearing over what she regarded as critical safety issues in midwifery.
The Irish Examiner understands the settlement offer was in the region of €250,000. Ms Canning refused to accept any settlement and she believes the HSE has been dragging out the pre-trial process for the last four years.
However, she now has been given weeks to live, following a terminal diagnosis. “I don’t know how long I have,” she told the Irish Examiner.
“It [the action] will drag on and on. One thing I know is, I want a settlement now.
“Chemo isn’t working and the only treatment where there is hope is immunotherapy, but as an ovarian [cancer] sufferer I must pay for it and the rate is €6,000 every three weeks. I simply don’t have the money. I want it settled. I want my legal people’s fees paid and whatever money there is to access the treatment.”
She says she does not regret refusing the previous offer, as circumstances were different then and she remains passionate the public should be informed about what she claims are shortcomings in the HSE’s safety record with expectant mothers. Since turning down the settlement, she did not return to work, as she felt she could not trust the HSE, in light of her experience.
Last year, she was forced to sell her home, because she was unable to keep up the mortgage payments.
“At this stage, I think there is no way I’m going to get a court hearing, so I want the public to understand both what they did to me and the mismanagement in the HSE, particularly concerning the safety of mothers and babies.”
The HSE is understood not to have conceded liability in the case.
Ms Canning claims the discovery process related to her action has reinforced the earlier expert reports that she acted professionally and that there were attempts to blame her for mistakes within a hospital setting.
She was, effectively, suspended in September 2014 with no notice, due, it was alleged, to issues arising from two cases where she acted as midwife.
The High Court upheld the suspension, but ahead of an appeal both she and the HSE commissioned a number of expert reports
into the cases at issue. All of the reports stated she had acted entirely professionally.
As a result, the HSE dropped the appeal three days before the scheduled hearing. Her indemnity insurance was reinstated, but the HSE conducted a “systems analysis” into her practice, which found she had made errors in her practice.
Unlike the four expert reports, the “systems analysis” was conducted by an administrator and physiotherapist, neither of whom had experience or qualifications in maternity care.
The official who oversaw the “systems analysis” was the same individual who had directed her suspension.
