The Mid-Western Health Board confirmed last night that three emergency medical technicians had been put off duty following their refusal to transfer a seriously ill child from Limerick Regional Hospital to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin.
The six-year-old boy, from Ennis, Co Clare, was transferred later last Monday night by another EMT crew to Beaumont. A hospital spokesperson said the boy remained "quite ill".
The health board said in a statement last night that the incident was being investigated. Pending the conclusion of the investigation, the board was not in a position to comment. According to a spokesman for SIPTU, two of the three technicians refused to transfer the child for "personal reasons". He said the third was not asked to travel to Dublin.
The spokesman said a meeting was due to be held last night with the health board's chief executive officer, Mr Stiofan de Burca. He said the incident was not connected to an ongoing unofficial dispute between the board and ambulance staff in Co Clare.
