Baby’s death sparks hospital fears

COMMUNITIES in Monaghan are pleading with the Health Service Executive to drop plans to downgrade smaller hospitals following the death of a two-week-old baby who had to endure a two-hour ambulance journey to Dublin because there was no local neo-natal intensive care unit.

The infant, the only child of a 23-year-old woman from Clones, Co Monaghan, died just over a week ago at Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children, a short time after collapsing from a previously undetected heart condition.

Doctors at Monaghan General managed to revive the baby before arranging an emergency ambulance transfer to Dublin with a consultant and nurse on board and a garda escort leading the way, but the infant did not recover.