Funding of €1.63 million for the recruitment of 18 additional nursing staff to the intensive care unit at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin, was announced yesterday.
The shortage of intensive care nurses at the hospital was at the centre of controversy last year when Róisín Ruddle (2), from Limerick, died within hours of being sent home after her heart operation was postponed. The hospital said at the time that the operation had been cancelled due to the lack of after-care nurses.
Yesterday, the Minister for Health and Children, Mr Martin, announced the additional funding of €1.63 million to meet the cost of recruiting 18 additional nursing staff to the intensive care unit.
"Despite the worldwide shortage of expertise in this area, the hospital has been successful in sourcing suitably qualified nurses through a recent recruitment campaign in Bahrain and elsewhere," he said.
The chief executive of the hospital, Mr Gerry O'Dwyer, welcomed the Minister's announcement. "With the additional nurses, we are going to have enough on a phased basis to provide care for the full complement of 21 intensive care beds," he said.
The funding was part of a €37 million investment to provide a new operating department at the hospital.
On reports that a consortium involving developers was finalising an offer to redevelop the hospital on a new site, Mr Dwyer said they had received no solid proposals.
The Committee of Management had approved the redevelopment of the hospital on site. The hospital was committed to the Outline Development Control Plan with the Department of Health and ERHA to rebuild the hospital.
Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children Crumlin is the largest children's hospital in the Republic. It is the national referral centre for the most serious childhood conditions.