UHG engaged second PR firm to advise on Savita fallout
A second public relations company was engaged by the local health service to advise about the media fallout from the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar.
The Galway City Tribune can reveal that as well as hiring Setanta Communications, University Hospital Galway (UHG) engaged with another private Dublin-based PR advisor, Jackie Gallagher of Q4, to advise about the high profile tragedy.
Previously this newspaper discovered, through the Freedom of Information Act, that Setanta Communications in Dublin, was paid some €99,000 over 12 months by Galway and Roscommon University Hospitals Group. Part of that payment included PR services relating to the death of Halappanavar, whose tragic passing made headlines across the globe in 2012 and 2013.
It has now emerged that a second PR company was also engaged by the health service to advise about Ms Halappanavar.
The minutes of a hospitals’ board meeting, seen by the Galway City Tribune, held on January 15, 2013, under matters arising, said: “The CEO updated the interim Board on the Savita Halappanavar (RIP) inquiry and advised that a meeting took place with Q4 at the request of the Secretary General to support the communication process of this enquiry.
“Mr. Jackie Gallagher from Q4 has now been appointed to lead the communication process. The Chair advised that he will negotiate the fee payable to Q4 with the Secretary General and Mr Gallagher.”
Asked to clarify why its engagement with a second PR company, Q4 PR, was not disclosed during the initial request under FOI, a hospital spokesperson said: “Although high level advisory discussions took place with Mr Jackie Gallagher from Q4, no services were procured by the Group and no fees were paid by the Group to Q4.”
Ironically, the reply was sent by Setanta Communications on behalf of the hospitals’ group.
Asked to clarify if any State organistaion, other than UHG and the hospitals group, had paid Q4 PR for advice, and if so how much, the spokesperson said he could not answer for the Department of Health or the Health Service Executive.
The FOI previously revealed that six invoices paid to Setanta by the hospitals group from the period June 2012 to July 2013 total €99,001.42 which includes VAT at 23%.
During Setanta Communications’ time as PR consultants to the Galway hospitals, the harrowing story of the death of Savita Halappanavar occurred at UHG.
That tragic death hit the headlines around the world and attracted intense media scrutiny and interest.
The hospital group has declined to say what element of the PR spend that was paid to Setanta relates to the Halappanavar case.
“Setanta Communications deals with many media relations issues and it is not possible to isolate resources dedicated to an individual issue within that timeframe,” Mr Canavan said at the time.
Ms Halappanavar, a dentist, presented at UHG with back pain on October 21, 2012, and was found to be miscarrying. The 31-years-old died of septicaemia a week later.
An inquest into her death found she died due to medical misadventure.
A Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) investigation into her death found failures to provide basic care in this case.