HSE confirm 15 children suffer adverse symptoms following drain cleaner incident

THE HSE have confirmed that 15 children suffered some level of adverse symptoms following a drain cleaner incident at a dental surgery in Ennis.

The HSE has concluded its review of an incident where the water containers used in dental chair treatment were contaminated with diluted drain cleaner.

The incident which took place in early October 2017 was widely reported at the time after the HSE issued an advisory notice and apology to the public.

“Fifteen of 43 children identified in the aftermath of the incident experienced some level of adverse symptoms and the HSE made appropriate efforts to support and keep informed all families involved,” a spokesperson for the HSE said.

Senior Management have arranged to meet with both the Dental Department Staff and the Parents of the children to provide them with an overview of the findings of the investigation and a copy of the Report of the investigation team.

Kate Duggan Head of Primary Care with HSE Mid-West Community Healthcare said: “Our investigation as to exactly how this happened is inconclusive but it is obvious to us that four incidental findings will now greatly reduce if not eradicate the possibility of this happening again, as we have acted on those findings. “

These findings included: Poor internal security within the Dental Clinic, domestic cleaning products are not stored securely in the Dental Clinic, staffing in the CSSD room is not adequate to ensure safe work practices and there is a lack of written standard operating procedures (SOPs).