Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has apologised ‘unreservedly’ over his controversial comments on the Waterford mortuary scandal and said that ‘this is one I got wrong’.
Four consultants at University Hospital Waterford had signed a letter raising serious concerns about dead bodies being ‘left decomposing’ in the mortuary’s hallways and ‘leaking body fluids on to the floor’. The scandal made headlines nationwide.
The Taoiseach called it a “strange story” when asked about it on a visit to Waterford on Tuesday and said there was “no evidence” to back up the consultants’ claims, as reported by The Irish Times.
Varadkar said at the time, “I don’t know if those claims are true or not, but it doesn’t seem that there’s any evidence to support them and certainly those who made them haven’t put forward any evidence to support them.”
In a letter released over the weekend, the Taoiseach apologised for his original comments and said he had not wanted to jump to conclusions as there were ‘conflicting accounts’.
The letter states, ‘On the one hand, a letter from four consultants making deeply disturbing claims about conditions in the mortuary and on the other hand, a statement from hospital management saying there was no evidence or supporting complaints to back up the claims.
‘I did not want to jump to conclusions or to side with one group or staff against another without knowing facts or before an investigation was carried out. That’s why I said that I did not know if the claims were true or not.
‘Over the course of the week, corroborating statements have come to light and complaints have been made that I believe support the views expressed by the four consultants. This is one I got wrong.
‘I want to apologise unreservedly to anyone who feels that I did not treat this issue with the seriousness or sensitivity it deserved.
‘As I have said before, my over-riding concern is for the dignity of patients in life and in death. It has never been in dispute that the mortuary is sub-standard and needs to be replaced.
‘Planning permission has been granted for a new one and I am assured that it will go to tender and construction this year. In the interim, temporary measures are being put in place.’
