A&E fundraising letter was unauthorised, says hospital

A LETTER sent to Dublin GPs by a staff member at Beaumont Hospital A&E department, requesting help in fundraising for an ultrasound machine was written by a member of nursing staff without authorisation from the hospital, management claimed last night.

In the letter, the staff member said: “The department is in urgent need of an ultrasound machine which is required to speedily assess internal organ damage resulting from traffic accidents and knife trauma wounds.” It added: “It would be reasonable to assume that the machine would be a standard piece of A&E equipment.”

However, the letter said the hospital was unable to provide for the ultrasound machine from its annual budget and that there was “no alternative” but for staff to raise the necessary €24,000 themselves.