Trolley crisis: ‘He was sitting on a chair for 10 hours’

A 72-year-old man with liver problems was in the emergency department for almost two days before being transferred to a ward, his wife has said – but that was before flu season kicked in.

On Tuesday, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) revealed that for the second day in a row 760 people were waiting on trolleys in emergency departments and wards for a bed. This is the highest number ever recorded.

The influx of patients seeking a hospital bed has been attributed to an outbreak of flu.

However Lesley Williams, whose husband Tim has been in St Vincent's hospital since December 2nd, said the problem of people waiting on trolleys has been around much longer than the flu season.

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“He was brought down to A&E and he was sitting on a chair for 10 hours. He was then given a trolley in in a little room off A&E. He was 35 hours down there before he was transferred to a ward and that was pre-flu epidemic,” said Ms Williams said.

“He was happy enough that he was put on medication straight away. He was treated in A&E, in the chair. He was on a drip, so he was quite stoic about that but at the same time a little afraid.”

Ms Williams said it was obvious the hospital was busy and they didn’t want to cause trouble. But that not having a bed made the situation more stressful

“He could see the place was busy, but he’s not a demanding person in that he wouldn’t complain about sitting in the chair,” she said. “It’s a very emotional state.”

She added: “You’re filled for the most part with fear, but also being a control freak; you feel out of control. You don’t know what’s going on. You don’t know what’s going to happen, you don’t know whether that’s normal. You’ve all these kind of emotions going on in your head.”