Delay in report into girl’s death after op called off under fire

A YEAR-LONG report into the death of two-year-old Róisín Ruddle will not be published for a number of months, it emerged yesterday.

Róisín died on July 1 last year, the day after an operation to correct a heart condition was cancelled at short notice.

The hospital said the operation was cancelled due to a shortage of intensive care nurses.

An inquiry team was appointed some weeks later, but a year on, it still has not submitted its report to Health Minister Micheál Martin.

This is unacceptable, according to Fine Gael TD Dan Neville, a neighbour in Limerick of Róisín’s parents Helen and Gerard.

Mr Neville has tabled a series of questions on the issue in the Dáil.

Mr Neville believes the delay suits Mr Martin, as his office can deflect questions about underfunding in the hospital, both in general and how it might have contributed to Róisín’s death. An official at the Department of Health said it could not interfere with the work of an independent inquiry team.

One committee member admitted yesterday the investigation had gone on longer than hoped.

David Hanly, who headed a team that authored a major report on the future of the health services, said the lack of availability of dates for meetings and interviews between people had contributed to the delay.

Asked yesterday when the inquiry is expected to be completed, Mr Hanly said: “I really cannot give an answer to that, some time in the next few months but I cannot be definitive.”

Mr Hanly said the team was still working on the report but added: “it’s pretty well completed at this stage.”

The ERHA report, which itself will only be published when the wider inquiry is completed but parts of which were leaked, found that shortage of ICU nurses contributed to the cancellation of Róisín’s operation.

It also reported the cancellation of scheduled operations at the hospital was running at about two per month between January and June. Many of these related to the absence of appropriately staffed ICU beds. Leaked reports said hospital authorities had written to Mr Martin, describing the pressure on ICU facilities and blaming the Government cutbacks.