Madam, - I have been living in Ireland for the past two years, having come from Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) in India and married an Irishman. Last year, while I was visiting India, my sister had an accident in which she burnt her arm with boiling water. We took her to a very busy government hospital in a city of 16 million people.
Now, I should point out that India, like Ireland, has a two-tier health system. The more you can afford to pay, the better the treatment you get. Government hospitals are chronically under-funded, but on arrival we were met by two doctors sitting at a desk. My sister was treated immediately and told to wait to see the consultant, who arrived after five minutes. He gave her detailed instructions as to how to look after her burn.
There were no people waiting in the A&E department, just doctors waiting for patients to arrive; and there was no charge for treatment. Also, despite the rundown appearance, Calcutta hospitals are clean, with no major hospital-acquired infection problems.
A few weeks ago I had an accident in Ireland, in which I burnt my wrist with hot oil. I went to hospital to be met by a clerk sitting at a desk who told me the charge would be €66. He then said he would fill out the invoice details before calling a nurse. After I had waited 20 minutes in great pain, a nurse arrived and applied a water gel bandage. She told me to wait and see a doctor. When I inquired as to how long this might take, I was told five to six hours. The A&E department resembled something one might see in a war film.
Perhaps the HSE should visit Calcutta to see how they do things there. - Yours, etc,
PROTIMA MUKHERJEE,
Glencormac Gardens,
Kilmacanogue,
Co Wicklow.