Maternity hospital got less than half of funding needed to replace ageing equipment

In some cases, equipment at the Rotunda had reached the end of its service life in 2014 and 2015 while some items were described as 'technically obsolete'. Picture: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

The country’s busiest maternity hospital secured less than half the funding it sought last year for the replacement of ageing and sometimes failing equipment.

Some equipment at the Rotunda had reached the end of its service life in 2014 and 2015 while some items were described as “technically obsolete”.

Other pieces of laboratory kit were said to be “causing lots of problems” while, in other cases, management was warned it “cannot afford” for certain ageing critical equipment to begin to fail or start creating issues.

A replacement programme list detailed €1.87m worth of equipment that was in urgent need of replacement during 2020.

However, the hospital said the funding received from the HSE for the replacement programme last year was €816,000.

'Managing' funding shortfall

A statement from the Rotunda said that there was traditionally a shortfall in funding and that it needed to “manage and mitigate this”.

Among the items listed as needing replacement last year were six bilimeters for testing for jaundice in infants that had reached the end of service in 2014.

A blood analysis machine was 10 years old and was described as “critical equipment as we have only one [and] cannot afford for this to start causing problems”. 

Seven blood pressure monitors in use at the hospital also needed replacement; they had reached end of life in 2004 and end of service in 2009.

Eight defibrillators, used for treating patients in cardiac arrest, also urgently needed replacement, having reached end of service in 2018.

Phototherapy lights and phototherapy units used for neonates had also reached end of life in 2017 and 2018, respectively, according to the replacement programme list.

Two laboratory centrifuges, over 15 years old, were also considered technically obsolete, with a note saying “parts are currently very difficult to source”.

In this year’s priority list, a new replacement biochemistry analysis machine was estimated to cost €100,000.

“Traditionally there is a shortfall in the funding issued and we need to mitigate and manage this," said a statement from the hospital.

“If equipment is sub-optimal or technically obsolete and is critical, it will be replaced.”