Hospital defends refusal of tele-medicine for children
The Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick has refused a teleconferencing system offered by the Children for Children Foundation, saying it contained legal and procedural pitfalls.
The system enables consultants to link up and network with outside consultants when deciding on treatments. The new technology - called telemedicine - has been supplied to most major hospitals around the country by the foundation. Two Cork hospitals are also refusing to link into the new system.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) Mid-West, said the Children for Children’s initiative, though well-intentioned, had failed to grasp complex procedural and legal complexities.
A spokesman for the HSE said: “If something goes wrong with a treatment recommended by an outside consultant and this results in litigation, where does the buck stop?”
He said the project needs a framework to ensure everybody involved was clear about their responsibilities.
Children for Children has accused the HSE Mid-West of dragging its heels and pointed out Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, Dublin, has been linked to a top research hospital in the US through the system.
The foundation has been backed by Fine Gael’s spokesman on Health and Children Dan Neville.
He said: “It is obvious this enhances the quality of service and treatment. While protocols and procedures may be important, we have to put children first.”
However, the HSE Mid-West insists that the difficulties are real. The spokesman said: “We have explained all this to Children for Children and we look forward to their co-operation in placing this very worthwhile initiative on a workable footing.”
The teleconferencing project is believed to be the Children for Children Foundation’s first major initiative. It has received €250,000 funding from the Department of Health.
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