Madam, - Dr Cyril Daly (February 19th) says he received a letter from the consultants and nursing staff of this hospital's emergency department stating that they were raising funds to buy a piece of urgently needed diagnostic equipment.
I regret that Dr Daly and others have been seriously misled in this matter. The letter they received was written by a single member of the nursing staff, without authorisation by the hospital. It does not represent the views of the emergency department, as it purports to do.
There are strict regulations in respect of any fund-raising activity on behalf of Beaumont and this one has not been submitted for approval.
Furthermore, it seriously misrepresents the needs of the exceptionally hard-working emergency department in a manner that is unfair to both the hospital itself and the agencies which fund our activities.
Dr Daly was told a dedicated ultrasound machine was urgently needed, that it would be "reasonable to assume that the machine would be a standard piece of A&E equipment", that the hospital was unable to fund it and that the ED staff had no alternative but to raise funds.
All of this is totally incorrect.
Fact: This is not a "standard piece of equipment" in Irish emergency departments. Beaumont's ED has the same access to ultrasound as its counterparts in other large acute hospitals in Dublin, including the Mater, Tallaght and St Vincent's. None of these hospitals' emergency departments currently have dedicated ultrasound equipment within them.
Fact: Equipment purchases for the ED are prioritised by the hospital's management in consultation with the ED team led by the consultants. The desirability of having a dedicated machine within the department was raised within the past six months. In response, the hospital has included it within a much larger tender currently under way for new ultrasound equipment for the entire hospital which will be completed this year.
I would add that our ED staff traditionally undertake a fund-raising activity each year. Recently they have decided, as a unit, to host a summer ball to raise funds for staff education. I wish them every success in this endeavour. - Yours, etc,
LIAM DUFFY, Chief Executive, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin 9.
