The Association for Improvement in Maternity Services Ireland (AIMSI) says it is extremely concerned at reports  that the HSE threatened HIQA with an injunction to halt the publication of its independent report 'into the deaths of five babies and the substandard care provided to 83 women in Portlaoise Hospital'.

The Irish Times reported earlier this week that the HSE had threatened to take court action to halt the publication of the report into maternity care at the hospital, which has been circulated in draft form to some parties, until parties affected by findings in the report had been afforded their rights to fair procedures.

The report is believed to include criticism of medical staff and health officials, although it does not identify individuals by name. HSE Director Tony O'Brien has claimed that elements of the draft HIQA report were unfair, lacked specificity and the report failed to give reasons for its findings.

AIMSI, commenting on the HSE-HIQA stand-off said: "service users are not human footballs to be kicked around between the HSE and HIQA."

"As a consumer representative body, AIMSI is alarmed that women, families and the public at large will not be able to have access the findings of an independent report into repeated failures at the Midlands Regional Hospital until the report meets the approval of the HSE."

The Association also said the row begged the question as to what level of control the HSE had over a regulatory and supposedly independent oversight body and also, what recourse the public had to find out exactly what systemic failures there had been in Portlaoise, and what improvements had been put in place.

Krysia Lynch, AIMSI Chair said: "The key issue here is one of accountability. Who exactly is the HSE answerable to? Families and the public at large need to be reassured that maternity services in this country are accountable, and will respond to concerns raised by the public or to adverse outcomes. In the recent case of Portlaoise, questions have been raised in the media, in the Dail, with the Minister, with the Department of Health and with the HSE itself.

She said now that the inquiry had come to fruition, "are we to understand that because the HSE don't like it, it won't be published, or be delayed or be repressed? This raises huge issues for public safety and confidence, not just in the maternity services, but in the HSE and HIQA."

Mr O'Brien has argued that the draft HIQA report failed to point out that HIQA had found there was no immediate risk to patient safety at Portlaoise Hospital, and that the report failed to acknowledge the significant work that had been undertaken to improve the quality of services provided to patients at the hospital to ensure patient safety.

AIMSI has called on Health Minister Leo Varadkar to intervene in this dispute and ensure that the report is published as swiftly as possible.

It is unlikely that the final version of the report will be published for a number of weeks.