The Health Service Executive (HSE) has announced details of its inquiry into the death of Savita Hallapanavar at the University Hospital in Galway last month.
The investigation will be headed up by Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran a UK expert in obstetrics and gynaecology.
Mr. Arulkumaran is the deputy head of Clinical Sciences at St. Georges University in London.
The investigation team will comprise of a number of experts in a range of medicines as well as an independent patient representative.
The chairperson of the investigation team says he will begin his inquiry immediately.
"We are going to start the investigation, so at the moment I won"t be able to state anything - other than to say we will do a thorough investigation and we"ll be working the next 3 days to try and sum up whatever we find, and pass it on to the agency" he said.
Various experts
The HSE says the investigation will "identify any shortcomings that may be identified in the clinical care provided to Ms. Halappanavar" and that the investigation team "comprises a number of experts in the relevant disciplines".
These include personnel from the areas of anaesthesia, midwifery, obstetrics and gynaecology and will be made up of 6 other people.
The body says the review seeks to ascertain facts relating to the incident, identify any casual or contributory factors, draw conclusions, and make recommendations in relation to any steps that may need to be taken to prevent, insofar as it’s possible, and reduce the risk of a similar incident occurring again.
It says the Galway University Hospital has committed to cooperating fully with the team.
The team has also made contact with legal representatives of Mr. Halappanavar and will engage with him as part of the investigation.
The final report is to be provided to the HSE National Director of Quality and Patient Safety Dr. Philip Crowley.
Speaking at the press conference announcing the investigation Dr. Crowley expressed condolences on behalf of the HSE to the family and friends of Ms. Halappanavar.
"Our thoughts are with Ms Halappanavar’s family and friends at this difficult time" he said.
"It is important that we ascertain the full facts of what occurred in this case and take all necessary steps that may be needed to be taken to prevent or minimise the risk of a similar incident occurring again" he added.
