HSE failed to act on 'unsafe' unit

The HSE has falied to act on a report which pointed to major inadequacies in intensive care facilities at Crumlin Children's Hospital.

Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) President Dr Paul Oslizlok, who is a consultant in Crumlin, said the HSE had commissioned a report on paediatric intensive care at a cost of hundreds and thousands of euros.

"Amongst many findings, such as insufficient ICU beds and insufficient staffing, the report found that one of the two intensive care units in Our Lady's Children's Hospital was so old and inadequate that it posed a potential risk to patient safety," he said.

Dr Oslizlok took the IHCA's annual conference in Cavan at the weekend that the report was endorsed by the HSE and Crumlin and while it was planned that a new unit be built urgently, but it was subsequently decided to , at best, severely curtail the project.

"So much for expert reports, so much for the care of the critically ill children," he said.

"Surely it is blindingly obvious that, in medical, moral and even financial terms, the right thing to do is to equip us to do our job," Dr Oslizlok said.

[Posted: Mon 05/10/2009]