The HSE has asked the independent safety body HIQA to carry out a statutory investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Savita Halappanavar at Galway University Hospital.

HIQA says it is now considering this request and will issue a statement on the matter tomorrow.

HSE chief Tony O'Brien said in order to give 'further reassurance' to the family and the public, the HSE had requested that HIQA initiate its own statutory inquiry. This could take place before the health executive's inquiry concluded, he said.

The latest development, however, has not led to the HSE standing down its own controversial inquiry into the death. Mr O'Brien told RTE the HSE inquiry was a 'clinical review', which had to take place to establish what happened. It could not be halted, even if Mr Halappanavar refused to cooperate with it.

It now appears that two major parallel inquiries, one independent probe run by HIQA and one run by the HSE, will now be held into the Halappanavar case. Such a scenario is unusual in a health safety scandal of this nature.

However, the HSE said it was not unprecedented for two health safety investigations to take place in parallel, as there was a HIQA and HSE inquiry into the Maedhbh McGivern transplant surgery transportation controversy last year.

Asked about potential logistical issues which would emerge from having two simultaneous probes of this nature, the HSE told irishhealth.com that it would be liaising with HIQA on the matter.

A Department of Health spokesperson said it was expected that it would still be feasible for the HSE inquiry to go ahead even if HIQA agreed to carry out its own inquiry.

The Department said HIQA would make a decision following the HSE request and it would then become clear how the two inquiries could work together.

There had been increasing speculation in recent days, as the HSE probe began to unravel, that HIQA would eventually be called in.

It remains to be confirmed what stance Ms Halappanavar's husband will now take following the request for HIQA to become involved.

The latest twist in the scandal over the maternal death of Ms Halappanavar comes after the HSE and Health Minister James Reilly were coming under increasing pressure following severe criticism of the HSE-led probe into the death.

The planned HSE-led inquiry did not have the cooperation of Mr Halappanavar, who said he had no confidence in such an inquiry, as it was was potentially biased. The HSE has already had to replace three doctors from Galway University Hospital originally appointed to the inquiry team.

Mr Halappanavar said he wanted an independent public inquiry funded by the Government.

Mr Halappanavar’s solicitor, Gerard O'Donnell, had indicated that the family may challenge the accessing of Savita's medical records for the HSE inquiry. In addition, Mr O'Donnell has said there is no record in Ms Halappanavar’s medical file of her requests for a termination while she was being treated in University Hospital Galway.

The HSE has said it had been advised that the medical records in the case are its property, and they have already been made available to its clinical review.

While a statutory HIQA inquiry would not be held in public, it would be completely independent of the HSE, and would be likely to have an inquiry team of independent experts from Ireland and abroad, as has been the case with previous HIQA probes.

Health staff would be statutorily obliged to cooperate with a HIQA inquiry and would be compelled to hand over all relevant documents and records for scrutiny.

The most recent statutory hospital safety inquiry held by HIQA was into the safety of emergency care at Tallaght Hospital in Dublin.

Separately, Praveen Halappanavar’s solicitor Gerard O'Donnell has said there is no record in Ms Halappanavar’s medical file of her requests for a termination while she was being treated in University Hospital Galway.
The Director-General designate of the HSE Tony O’Brien said even if Ms Halappanavar’s family decided not to co-operate with the executive’s inquiry, the review 'must be brought to a conclusion'.

There was 'no way' the inquiry could be stopped as it would be 'criminally negligent' not to proceed, he said.

Savita probe - what were they thinking?