Staff at Dublin's Rotunda Hospital have resorted to fundraising for a vital piece of equipment.
They say no government funding is available for a heart ultrasound machine for the intensive care unit.
The Rotunda Hospital is the country's busiest maternity hospital, with more than 1,200 babies undergoing care at it's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit every year.
But staff say a heart ultrasound machine (an Echocardiography Machine), that's used on a daily basis, has reached the end of its life and the information it can give is limited.
They have resorted to online fundraising for a new machine. According to a gofundme campaign set up this month, government funding is not available for a replacement.
"As government funding is not available for a replacement echocardiography machine, we need help from the public to raise essential funds to purchase a new machine so that we can continue to provide the best possible care for all our babies" according to the post.
More than €15,000 of the €76,500 target has already been raised with donors entered into a draw to win a designer handbag and tickets to a rugby match.
Response
However the Minister for Health says the Rotunda Hospital never made an application for funding for the equipment;
"My understanding from my own inquiries with the HSE is that there was never an application to the HSE to fund that, that this was an initiative that the Rotunda decided to proceed with"
Minister Harris went on to say that he will be meeting with the Master of the Rotunda Hospital in the next few days and will raise the matter then.
