Crumlin tragedy - Public must know why Róisín died

THERE is an irresistible case for holding an independent inquiry into all the circumstances surrounding the untimely death of little Róisín Ruddle.

Clearly unhappy with the contents of the official report, the toddler’s parents Gerard and Helen, in whose arms she died, have finally broken their silence, calling for questions to be answered in an independent inquiry.

Nothing less will suffice.

The official report on this tragedy is no more than a factual account of the events as they unfolded at Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin.

The document utterly fails to identify the real cause of the scandalous situation in which surgeons were forced to cancel Róisín’s heart operation.

All the known facts indicate that Government cutbacks were to blame for a chronic shortage of intensive care nurses, leaving doctors with no other choice than to postpone her heart operation indefinitely.

No matter what construction Government spin doctors may attempt to put on this sad scenario, the public will not be duped.

The whole country knows that funding cutbacks have been so severe that Ireland’s principal hospital for treating sick children was left short of 45 intensive care nurses. It would be a travesty of justice if the facts were to be swept under the carpet for shoddy political reasons.

In little Róisín’s name, and to ensure that this never happens again to another child, the truth must come out.