An Irish hospital has insisted it stands by its claims that money was not an issue in failed attempts to get a teenage girl to London for a liver transplant.
Health chiefs at Crumlin Children's Hospital in Dublin are facing allegations that an hour-long wait to authorize a €14,500 bill for a private jet ultimately jeopardized plans to fly 14-year-old Meadhbh McGivern to London.
The hospital declined to answer the allegation directly, but reiterated that "funds have always been made available in these cases." A spokeswoman for the hospital said management were co-operating fully with a watchdog inquiry into the scandal, which left the Leitrim teenager still waiting for the vital transplant surgery.
Meadhbh was offered the operation in King's College, London, on Saturday, July 2, but four hours later, plans for the life-changing surgery had to be called off due to delays in securing a flight.
A catalogue of calls between several agencies and the family appeared to show a breakdown in communications among teams arranging transport.
Health minister James Reilly, who apologized to the family, has called on the Health Information and Quality Authority to investigate the controversy.
