We don’t want to worry an already anxious population, nor do we desire to unsettle hard-working members of the medical profession in these difficult times. But, on balance, we think it is important that the infirm and the overworked are warned.
Minister for Health Dr James Reilly (below), mentioned in a throwaway remark to journalists last weekend that he had turned up unannounced recently at the AE unit of University Hospital Galway (UHG) and carried out a mini-inspection.
It has been said of the bearded Dr Reilly that he would not look out of place in a silent movie, tying a shrieking damsel to train tracks. He has a certain, um, presence. The Minister, who came under sustained pressure this week over the closure of the emergency department at Roscommon County Hospital, paid his surprise visit after he had addressed a health-promotion conference in the city.
“I went up to UHG just, you know, out of the blue, and I hope they’ve recovered from the shock of seeing me there, but the reality was 23 patients lying on trolleys at 10.05am,” he said. “One person there was entering their third day. That has to be fixed, and it will be fixed.”
Of course, the Minister is absolutely right. And it’s encouraging to hear that he wanted to see the situation for himself, rather than relying on information from advisers. But when he left after his flying visit, we can confirm that the trolley toll had jumped considerably.
Two nurses passed out on the spot when they saw the not inconsiderable figure of Reilly lumbering into their unit. The last remaining junior hospital doctor west of the Shannon suffered a nervous collapse. Four pensioners sustained crush injuries after orderlies tried to hide them in a hot press and an elderly lady, who woke from her slumber to find the Minister looming, suffered a stroke.
On the plus side, the person entering their third day took up their stretcher and fled.
Meanwhile, Minister of State Kathleen Lynch turned up out of the blue at a psychiatric facility in Clonmel last week. (Yes, we know there’s a joke in that, but it would be in bad taste.)
Arriving unannounced means that hospital authorities don’t have the chance to make things look better than usual. But, more importantly, it also means that Ministers can avoid protests.
You have been warned.