Savita's husband excuses himself from court hearing

London, Apr 12: As the inquest into Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar's death entered the 5 th day, Savita's huband, Praveen Halappanavar who has been a witness to testimonies from staff and doctors of University

Galway excused himself from attending the hearing as he was 'stressed'.

"While he's very composed at all times in the court, it is very, very stressful for him to hear all the details. He's taking the view that he's looking for the truth," added O'Connell. Halappanavar's senior counsel, Eugene Gleeson, told coroner Ciaran McLoughlin that his client was not showing the court any disrespect but was "overwrought". Dr McLoughlin said he understood.

Earlier, the coroner heard about a three-hour delay in transferring the blood samples of 31-year-old Savita to the laboratory for analysis had no impact on the course of her infection. Irish media reports, however, highlighted that Dr McLoughlin described the delay as "another risk factor".

The samples showed that Savita was infected with an E. Coli ESBL (extended spectrum beta lactamase), which is particularly difficult to treat with antibiotics. Dr Keady said it was very uncommon for maternity patients to suffer ESBL infections and stressed that Savita was on the appropriate antibiotics and subsequent tests showed that they were effective in clearing all bacteria from her system.

The inquest also heard from ICU staff nurse Jacinta Gately as she gave evidence yesterday of having been with Savita throughout her final hours on the night of October 27 and the morning of October 28, 2012, when she was declared dead. "Within minutes of commencing CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation), I went out to find Mr Halappanavar to let him know what was happening, that his wife's heart had stopped and that we had started CPR," she recalled.

Halappanavar was 17 weeks pregnant when she was admitted to the hospital in pain on October 21 last year. She delivered a dead baby girl three days later and was rushed to intensive care within hours of the delivery, where she remained in a critical condition. On October 28, Savita died of a heart attack caused by septicaemia - an infection in the blood. The case reignited debates on abortion in Ireland, with her death sparking rallies and protests calling for a change in the law.

OneIndia News (With inputs from PTI)