An opinion poll commissioned by a parents' lobby group found that 80 per cent of respondents believe the Government is not investing enough money in the State's largest children's hospital, Our Lady's in Crumlin, Dublin.
The hospital was at the centre of controversy earlier this year after the death of a two-year-old Limerick girl, Róisín Ruddle, within hours of her heart operation being postponed by the hospital.
The New Crumlin Hospital Group, an alliance of parents concerned about conditions at the hospital, recently commissioned a research company, Behaviour & Attitudes, to question a representative sample of the adult population about Crumlin Hospital. Some 1,200 people were questioned.
"The results make very interesting reading and send a very clear message to the Government," the chairman of the group, Mr Karl Anderson, said yesterday.
The poll found that eight in 10 respondents wanted the Government to spend more money on the hospital.
In advance of the opinion poll's publication, the hospital yesterday issued a statement outlining development plans for Our Lady's where much of the infrastructure was described by an independent expert, Dr Ronnie Pollock, in a special report published earlier this year, as outdated, inadequate and below international standards.
Five new theatres opened at the hospital yesterday, and two more will be open by the end of the year. They replace theatres in use since 1956.
Included in the new development are two cardiac theatres, an ultra-clean orthopaedic theatre and two laser theatres. The block also includes an 11-bed post-anaesthetic care unit and a new sterile services department which, the hospital said, contains the first medical decontamination unit in the State.
Mr Anderson welcomed the news but said the theatres, built at a cost of €33 million, were only part of the developments required at the hospital. "We estimate that some €350 million has to be spent on the hospital to bring it up to international standards," he said.
"The outpatients department, intensive care unit and wards are all still out of date, and the accident and emergency unit is below standard," he added.
However, the hospital said the theatres were part of a development project worth a total of €50 million which is ongoing at present. It said:
Work on a new day surgical unit started last week and is due for completion in December.
A new dermatology outpatient/day care facility is being developed.
Building work is well advanced on a new neurology unit.
And building work has begun on a new infectious diseases unit.
Furthermore, it said, a project team was working on plans for the complete redevelopment of the hospital.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that progress has been made by the hospital in recruiting staff to fill its huge number of nursing vacancies. A shortage of intensive care nursing staff had been blamed for the postponement of Róisín Ruddle's operation.
A spokeswoman said the hospital was continuing with an extensive nurse recruitment programme in Ireland and the Middle East, and some extra staff had already been successfully recruited through the programme.
A Health Service Employers Agency survey published in May showed there were more nursing vacancies in Our Lady's than any other Dublin hospital. It had 79 vacancies at the end of March.