A lack of up-to-date equipment and facilities was a factor in a leading Irish-trained cardiologist not taking up a permanent post in the State's largest children's hospital.Children's hospital
The issue has been highlighted by Heart Children Ireland in its latest newsletter which states that Limerick-born Dr Adrian Moran was "very disillusioned with the lack of facilities" in Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Dublin, when he arrived to work there in a temporary capacity in 2002.
The newsletter states he sought commitments that there would be speedy improvements in the cardiac department. "Unfortunately these commitments were not forthcoming," it added.
Dr Moran, who had come to work in the hospital after several years working in the US, has now returned to work in Maine.
Mr Michael Foley, chairman of Heart Children Ireland, a support group for parents of children with congenital heart defects, said this was very disappointing as Dr Moran has huge experience. He added that medics and other staff at the hospital had to work in horrendous physical conditions. An independent report on conditions at the hospital over a year ago found facilities at Crumlin so seriously outdated that it was unable to provide "currently acceptable standards of care".
A parent of a child who was treated for a heart condition at the hospital up to her death two years ago contacted The Irish Times after reading the newsletter to say she felt it disgraceful that conditions at the hospital were allowed to remain outdated at a time when the Government was "squandering" taxpayers money on other things. She cited the bill for the hosting of the EU presidency, which topped €60 million, as an example of money wasted.
"Why are we letting the Irish Government squander tax payers money on such events while our national children's hospital is failing to meet basic standards?" she asked.
Dr Moran confirmed he had problems with facilities at Crumlin. He said he was recruited by the hospital to spearhead non-invasive imaging like foetal imaging and cardiac MRI scanning but the hospital did not have an MRI scanner.
"At the time I was there I thought the infrastructure and equipment was not conducive to producing the world-class level of imaging they should have or deserve to have," he said.
There were ongoing discussions, he said, with the Department of Health about getting an MRI scanner but one was not provided. Then there were delays in his interview for a permanent post in Crumlin. While he was waiting around he was approached by two hospitals, one in the US and another in Canada, and offered other posts, one of which he accepted.
He stressed the staff in Crumlin were excellent but the facilities and infrastructure needed to be improved. He also stressed that his decision to return to the US was "multifactoral" and that while conditions in Crumlin played a part, there were also other factors including the fact that his wife was American.
Dr Moran, a paediatric cardiologist, said it will become increasingly difficult for Dublin hospitals to attract medical and other staff because of the extremely high cost of housing in the city as well as traffic congestion in Dublin.
A spokeswoman for Crumlin hospital said the post which Dr Moran left was not vacant. It was filled in a temporary capacity and it was hoped to have it filled permanently by the end of the year.
She added that while the hospital was awaiting major redevelopment, it was taking interim measures to improve in-patient and out-patient facilities, as well as diagnostic facilities, for cardiac patients. A design team was in place for an MRI facility, she confirmed.
Last week conditions at the hospital were said to be partly to blame for its inability to recruit sufficient intensive care nurses, which resulted in the temporary deferral of cardiac surgery on two children.