Baby to have lung operation after four postponements due to staff shortage

A two-year-old boy from Tallaght, who has had a lung operation postponed four times in the past week, is finally due to undergo the procedure today.

Dillon Smyth (2), one of four children of Ms Lisa Smyth and Mr Damian O'Hare, was admitted to Crumlin Children's Hospital last Monday for an operation to remove fluid from his left lung. He had already spent six weeks in Tallaght Hospital, from the beginning of June, being treated for pneumonia.

The operation, which was initially scheduled for last Monday morning, was postponed because, says Ms Smyth, there weren't enough nursing staff to care for Dillon after the operation in the intensive care unit.

The operation was rescheduled for Thursday, then Friday and finally Saturday. It was postponed on each occasion, and each time Dillon had fasted from the night before.

Sister Lena McDermott, duty head of nursing administration at Crumlin Hospital, said yesterday no one was available to comment on the case.

"The first time they said it was cancelled because there weren't enough nurses I said, `Sure, what can they do?' and thought maybe it was to be expected," said Ms Smyth. "Then they said it would be done Tuesday or Wednesday, which was fine. Then, at 2 o'clock they came in to us and said, `It's OK, you can give him something to eat. It's not going to happen today.'

"I went mad. I mean, it's very hard to not let a starving child have something to eat. He was screaming for his bottle. . .You put him through all that and then they cancel the operation."

The situation upset the family, she says, particularly Dillon's twin brother, Jordan, and his older sister, Jade (5), and brother, Niall (8).

Her partner, Mr O'Hare, spent his nights of the waiting period at the hospital, for which he has to pay £6 per night. The couple are also worried about the amount of money they are spending on taxis to and from the hospital, £8 each way. Only Mr O'Hare is employed, as a chef.

"I don't know if it's going to go ahead on Tuesday. I don't have any faith in them at this stage," said Ms Smyth. "I think they are just fobbing us off. And I'm worried about the long-term effects of all this. Will his lungs be damaged?

"I'm dreading bringing him back in now," she says. "He thinks he's home now and he associates the hospital with suffering. I feel just terrible for him, just want to take him and cuddle him for hours and tell him it's not going to happen any more."

A local Sinn Fein councillor, Mr Sean Crowe, called on the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, to intervene in the case to ensure that the operation went ahead without further delay.

"A two-year-old child cannot understand why his parents are starving him practically every day," he said. "If Dillon Smyth's parents had money they wouldn't have to wait another day for the operation. They could buy their way into a hospital."