No inquiry into 34 broken bones

Maureen McGinley's body suffered 34 broken bones

It has been decided not to hold a public inquiry into how a Strabane woman's body suffered 34 broken bones.

Health Minister Micheal McGimpsey said such a probe would be unlikely to shed any further light on what happened to the body of Maureen McGinley.

The 78-year-old died in Altnagelvin Hospital in January 2007.

Between her death and examination by the coroner, Mrs McGinley's body sustained numerous fractures, primarily to her rib cage.

Internal inquiries at the hospital and the Coroner's Office failed to establish who was responsible.

Mrs McGinley's children have campaigned vigorously for answers and collected more than 14,000 signatures on a petition calling for a public inquiry.

Explaining his decision, the health minister said: "My understanding is that events surrounding Mrs McGinley's death have been subjected to a very comprehensive examination, both internally by the trust and by the coroner's service, who took responsibility for delivering her body to the Belfast City Mortuary for post-mortem.

"Despite that comprehensive investigation it has not been possible to provide a totally satisfactory explanation for the fractures which Mrs McGinley sustained after her death.

If this was anybody who belonged to us we certainly would be shouting from the rooftops to get our answers Iris Robinson

"I am of the view that any further review, or indeed a public inquiry, into the circumstances is unlikely to shed any further light on how this unfortunate incident occurred."

Chair of the health committee, the DUP's Iris Robinson, described the decision as "totally unacceptable".

"There are still no answers for us or for the family as to what happened. If this was anybody who belonged to us we certainly would be shouting from the rooftops to get our answers," she said.

The committee's vice chair, Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill, said: "It's not good enough for the family that this matter is not going to be investigated properly."