Four operations cancelled since Róisín’s death

FOUR more operations have been cancelled at Crumlin children’s hospital since the death of a baby whose heart surgery was cancelled last week.

Two-year-old Róisín Ruddle, from Ballingarry, Co Limerick, died in her parents’ arms after being sent home from Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children, when her operation for a heart defect was cancelled at short notice.

Yesterday, a spokeswoman for the hospital confirmed that four operations had not gone ahead in the past week.

“Three non-emergencies were cancelled and a fourth operation was cancelled because the consultant was not available. None involved cardiac surgery,” she said.

All elective surgery bar acute complex and minor cases and all cardiac surgery had been cancelled for the month of August at the hospital. This is to facilitate the transfer to new operating theatres. The spokeswoman said cancellations were minimal because the transfer had been well planned and involved discussions with surgeons.

The hospital has confirmed it has approval from the Eastern Regional Health Authority (ERHA) to boost its number of paediatric intensive care nurses. It was reported earlier this week that the hospital was short 45 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurses. A spokeswoman for the hospital was unable to say how many additional staff they would be taking on. She said increasing the ICU complement would not affect staffing levels in other parts of the hospital.

Cutbacks at Beaumont Hospital have prompted the Labour Party into protest action. The politicians, led by Dublin North Central Senator Derek McDowell, will hold a protest outside the hospital at 11am today to highlight 45 recent bed closures. Petitions on the issue will be collected in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, the Irish Nurses Organisation, the Health Service Employers Agency and hospital managers meet on Tuesday to discuss progress made since a joint plan to ease chaos in accident and emergency departments nationwide was first mooted over a year ago.

Also on the agenda at the Labour Relations Commission-chaired session is a new bed management report and the long-awaited staffing review for nurses.