€1,000 the price of Roisin’s life

THE surgeon who was forced to cancel life-saving surgery on Róisín Ruddle revealed last night the nursing care needed for her operation to proceed would have cost less than €1,000.

Cardiac specialist Mr Freddie Wood said the operating theatre and surgical personnel were ready for the most complex and expensive part of the procedure on two-year-old Róisín but the comparatively inexpensive post-operative care was not available.

"What was missing was a nurse to nurse the bed space for the child to go to. It would not cost €1,000 to hire a nurse one for the afternoon shift and one for the night shift would not cost anything like €1,000."