A safety system introduced in maternity wards after Savita Halappanavar's death is not functioning properly in a number of hospitals.

The system alerts health staff when a pregnant woman's condition is deteriorating.

An audit carried out by the HSE between May and August last year at 7 maternity units showed only one, the Rotunda in Dublin, was operating the system properly.

The Irish Independent reports that the main failing was that staff weren't doing repeat observations of the patient in the recommended time frame.

Those where deficiencies were found included University Hospital Galway, where Savita Halappanavar died.

**note - the other hospitals were the Coombe in Dublin, Cork University Maternity Hospital, Cavan General, South Tipperary General and Mullingar Hospital.**