Calls have been made for the provision of a dedicated paediatric intensive care unit at CUH, but the Taoiseach has warned “spreading expertise, skills and resources more thinly doesn’t always mean better outcomes for everyone”.

Fine Gael’s health spokesperson Colm Burke called in the Dáil for an update on the new paediatric unit at the hospital and for the delivery of a paediatric ICU, saying the tragic death of Vivienne Murphy highlighted the need for it. Vivienne, 10, died after a strep A infection in 2019.

Having complained of a sore throat, she deteriorated quickly and her parents were first told she had a virus.

When her parents brought her to hospital, they were told she had strep A which led to sepsis and shock and would need surgery at Temple Street, Dublin, as there was no paediatric critical care unit at CUH. After surgery, she suffered cardiac arrest, brain damage, and later passed away.

“I think the tragic death of Vivienne Murphy highlighted the need for a regional facility like this,” Mr Burke said in the Dáil.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the delivery of major surgery and a paediatric ICU in Cork “is going to be down to medical advice”.

“It’s really important that we do raise awareness of Strep A, particularly among the medical profession and nurses and among parents as well,” Mr Varadkar said.

“It’s just tragic to think that perhaps if treatment had been given sooner, if an antibiotic had been given or prescribed sooner, that young Vivienne would never have ended up in hospital at all, never mind having the experiences she endured.

“In relation to the paediatric department in Cork, phase one of that was built and commissioned, providing a dedicated outpatient cystic fibrosis outpatient accommodation in CUH.

“Phase two is currently being developed. I’m told it’s at a detailed design stage and that involves high-dependency beds and specialist haematology oncology beds to accommodate the needs of paediatric patients in Cork for the next 10 to 20 years.

“In relation to carrying out major surgery and ICU therefore in Cork, that is a different matter and that is really going to be down to medical advice.

“At the moment, we have two national centres for major surgery and paediatric ICU in Ireland, in Temple Street and Crumlin, and the current advice from the experts is to consolidate them in one national centre which is the new children’s hospital which will be open next year.

“Whether having regional centres would produce better outcomes in the round, I think is a matter for experts, but I think we need to bear in mind spreading expertise, skills and resources more thinly doesn’t always mean better outcomes for everyone.”

The exchange comes as Ireland has recorded an increase in invasive Group A streptococcus between October 2022 and April 2023, when more than 219 cases of Strep A were notified in Ireland.