‘More inquests’ if HSE cutbacks go ahead

‘More inquests’ if HSE cutbacks go ahead


A CORONER has issued a stark warning that she will ‘certainly be sitting at more inquests’ if proposed health service cuts go ahead.
At a sitting of the Coroner’s Court in Ballina last week, acting coroner for north Mayo, Dr Eleanor Fitzgerald, commended the rapid response of an ambulance team who arrived at the scene of a fatality in less than 16 minutes and referred to the crew’s expertise as ‘essential’.
A verdict of death by natural causes was recorded at the inquest into the death of John Corcoran, Rathball, Knockanillaun, Ballina, who died in his farm yard after collapsing while clutching an electrical extension lead. Despite initial suspicions that the 49-year-old man was electrocuted, a Garda investigation revealed that the fatality was not connected to any electrical-related injury.
In her statement, Mary Corcoran, wife of the deceased, said she was in her home on November 12, 2008, after midday, when she went outside to alert her husband to a telephone call for him. She said she saw her husband emerging from the building with a blue extension lead in his hand and after he walked three to four yards he appeared to take a pain. She said she jerked the lead from his hand before her husband fell to the ground, clutched his chest and his shoulders tightened.
Mrs Corcoran said she did not get a shock from the lead but had concerns about it after an incident a few days earlier when her husband alerted her to the fact that it was sparking. The coroner heard that the father of five had suffered a heart attack in 2005 and subsequently had stints placed in his heart.
Mr Corcoran was pronounced dead at 1.15pm when the doctor arrived on the scene. At that point, Derek Walsh and Michael Kenny of the Ballina Ambulance Corps, who received the call at 12.36pm, and arrived at the scene 16 minutes later, had been working on resuscitation for over 20 minutes.
The subsequent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death was outlined by Sergeant Eamon Breslin of the Castlebar Division Crime Unit. He noted the extension lead had a 30mm long area where the insulation was frayed and the internal copper wire was visible and damp. Consequently, a qualified electrician found the electrical supply to the shed was unsafe and advised its termination.
In his medical evidence, pathologist with Mayo General Hospital, Dr Michael McKenna, said there was no indication of electrocution or any injury when he carried out a post-mortem on November 12. He said an autopsy revealed significant damage to the heart and evidence of scarring of the muscle from Mr Corcoran’s previous heart problems. He said there was ‘a significant degree of heart disease present for such a young man’ and that the deceased died from suffering a severe cardiac aphemia.
Coroner Dr Fitzgerald said she was ‘satisfied’ there was no connection between the death and the faulty electrical lead but warned that it ‘could have been an accident waiting to happen’. She commended the rapid response of the emergency services but noted that any cuts to such resources could spell unnecessary fatalities in the future. “It is so important to have access to these services and if this is cut back as proposed by the HSE, I will certainly be sitting at more inquests I think. In this instance the crew could not save a life but they did all they could,” she said.
After recording her verdict of death by natural causes, Dr Fitzgerald extended her sympathies to the wife of Mr Corcoran, his four daughters and son. On behalf of An Garda Síochána, Superintendent Frank Walsh also issued his condolences to the Corcoran family.