St Vincents Healthcare Group Limited and the Irish Daily Star

Complaint

The Chief Executive of St Vincent’s Healthcare Group Limited complained that an article published in the Irish Daily Star on 26 March 2008 breached Principle 1 (Truth and Accuracy) of the Code of Practice. The article reported an interview with the widow of a man who refused to sanction VHI payments in respect of her late husband’s hospital bill. The Chief Executive complained that the headline to the article “Don’t pay bill to the hospital that cost my husband his life ....” was unfair and misleading and that it and the opening paragraphs of the article did not strive for truth and accuracy. He also complained that the hospital had not been contacted by the newspaper prior to publishing the article.

The newspaper stood over its report and said that it felt entirely justified in giving the dead man’s grieving widow the right to voice her concerns over the care her late husband received in hospital, his infection by the superbug Clostridium difficile and his death. It said that it was entitled to print what was clearly the widow’s opinion.

Decision

The article set out the widow’s opinion in relation to what she perceived as the inadequate care of her late husband during his stay in hospital, her belief that his infection with Clostridium difficile led to his death, and her strong concerns about the lack of hygiene in the hospital. All references in the article to matters relating to these three areas were attributed to the widow.

The headline clearly related to the widow’s decision not to sanction the VHI to pay her late husband’s hospital bill. The first paragraph of the article stated that the woman was refusing to “give the VHI the go-ahead to pay the hospital bill”. While the Chief Executive complained that the headline was unfair as it claimed that the hospital cost the man his life, it is clear from the headline, and from the first paragraph of the article, that the headline was reporting the widow’s statement as a comment by her, and not as a fact.

As this comment was the primary focus of the article, the fact that the patient’s cancer was the original reason for his hospitalisation was not presented until later in the article does not present a breach of the Code of Practice.

The Chief Executive also complained that the hospital was not contacted by the reporter and given an opportunity to clarify its position. It is evidently preferable, and in the spirit of the Code of Practice, that in relation to news stories involving serious allegations against any individual or institution, newspapers generally should offer the person or institution concerned an appropriate and timely opportunity to respond to the allegations. In the circumstances of this particular case, the newspaper’s publication of the hospital’s point of view on the issues concerned, two days after receiving their complaint and after the hospital had issued a press release, constituted an adequate, but belated, recognition of this. No further action is therefore required under the Code of Practice.

The complainant appealed the decision to the Press Council of Ireland