Report on Róisín’s death due in autumn

AN independent investigation into the events surrounding the death of a two-year-old Limerick girl after her heart operation was postponed is expected to be completed in late September.

Announcing the inquiry last night, Health Minister Mícheál Martin said the three-member panel of experts would also address questions raised by Róisín Ruddle’s family.

Gerard Ruddle and Helen Quain-Ruddle from Ballingarry, Co Limerick, called for the independent inquiry after they saw the still unpublished official report on the death of their daughter.

After considering the report the parents said they felt further questions needed to be answered.

Róisín died in her mother’s arms on July 1 last, just hours after she was discharged from Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin.

Her heart operation had to be postponed the previous day because of a lack of intensive care nurses. The hospital is short 45 intensive care nurses despite exhaustive recruitment campaigns in recent years.

Mr Martin travelled to Limerick to see Róisín’s parents last Friday. While he had no problem with the parents’ request for an independent inquiry, he was anxious to meet them to establish the best way for the investigation to proceed.

The review panel will be chaired by management consultant, David Hanly, director of nursing at Cork University Hospital, Kay O’Sullivan and paediatric cardiologist at Guy and Thomas’s Hospital, London, Dr Shakeel A Qureshi.

The inquiry’s terms of reference are to consider the Eastern Regional Health Authority’s report and to make further inquiries.

It will also examine protocols and procedures relevant to the incident to see if prevailing standards of best practice were applied.

The inquiry will report to the minister and make recommendations as it sees fit.

After reading the EHRA report Mr Martin described the toddler’s death as a cause of great regret and upset. “It is something we would want to avoid in the future,” he said.

Mr Martin said the report of the independent review panel and the EHRA report will be published together.

Dympna Donnelly of Heart Children Ireland, a support group for parents of children with congenital heart disorders, said they welcomed the inquiry. Ms Donnelly said she was glad there would be an analysis of the issues causing problems in the hospital.

It is believed the EHRA report outlines the way the hospital has been funded over the past three years and the events that occurred on June 30, when Róisín’s surgery was cancelled. The report makes no recommendations.