ADAM DOYLE’S SON Noah has been in Crumlin Children’s Hospital for a the last two months.
“Baby Noah” became the subject of headlines after his dad wrote an impassioned missive about having to travel to the North on Christmas Day to get medical supplies.
In an open letter in December to Minister for Health Leo Varadkar, Adam explained that the family had run out of the special tubes and syringes needed to feed 11-month-old Noah, and that hospital staff were unable to provide emergency equipment because of the delay to his son’s medical card application.
Noah has a congenital heart disease and a number of other health problems including severe scoliosis, an underdeveloped skull, a kidney defect and narrow airways.
He had eventually been scheduled for surgery after the outcry, but Adam today told Pat Kenny on Newstalk FM that his attempt to upgrade the parents’ area facilities free of charge was rejected.
“Every time Noah has been in hospital, we’ve been lucky enough to get a room in the parents’ accommodation. It’s an old block of 54 rooms and the unit itself is fantastic in that it gives you a chance to be five minutes from your baby.
“But it’s very old and was built in the 50s. The windows and doors are 50 years old and it has become quite run down. It can be very cold in the winter.”
Adam says that he never wanted to “give out” about the facility, but rather wanted to give something back to hospital.
To do so, he offered to put together a project to refurbish the facility through his contacts in the construction industry.
He said that he had already been offered materials and had met with hospital management, adding that he was “confident” that the facility could be “brightened up” at no cost to the hospital.
The project would have cost €110,000 normally, Adam said.
The project was scheduled to be launched two weeks ago, but Adam says he received a phone call from a member of senior management in the hospital who said “no, it can’t happen”.
“The primary reason given was that the hospital had its own plan that it wasn’t able to opt out of. I understand framework agreements, but it didn’t stack up with me.
“Last week we had another call to say it wasn’t going ahead.”
Adam says the Crumlin plan is “inferior”, will only refurbish ten of the 25 rooms and has “no budget in place”.
In a statement to TheJournal.ie Crumlin Children’s Hospital acknowledged that “our parent accommodation needed renovation and upgrading”.
“We are extremely appreciative of the offer from Mr Doyle and the detailed level of planning put into his proposal. However, following a competitive tender process for phases one and two, a contractual arrangement with an external company is in place to carry out the renovation,” the statement says.
The hospital has strict procedures in place for all building and renovation projects.
The hospital has had a positive experience in the past of working with volunteers in the provision of both the elements of such projects. The hospital is always open to similar offers for any other work where existing agreements with contractors are not already in place.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say