A chara, – Monday night last week my son was rushed to Limerick Regional AE, arriving there at 10.45pm. He was seriously ill, having collapsed in his home. He has MS and is severely disabled as a result. What we faced into in AE makes me so ashamed, angry and frustrated. I stood beside his trolley (praise be he was put on a trolley) for over two hours.
It was like being in a totally surreal place – moving his trolley back and forth to allow people to move by him. To watch others looking at what was unfolding was shameful. To see at 2am, a very elderly man struggling with his Zimmer frame as he looked for somewhere to stand – there were no chairs – as his bewildered wife followed him around, this sight will stay with me.
Remember this was Monday night and no sign of anyone who was drunk, drugged or disorderly. I only saw sick people.
How have we come to this, that the most vulnerable in our society are neglected in this way? Not for one second am I criticising the nurses or doctors. How they get up every day to face into this chaos is beyond me.
When my son was eventually seen at 2.30am he was put into a cubicle and there he remained for 24 hours. He eventually got a bed and remained there for one day and then we took him home. He is recovering now and doing well.
Shame, shame, shame on our Government that this chaos continues every day in every hospital in the country.
Why isn’t the Army Medical Corp called in to assist in places where help is badly needed? What else is it doing? Protecting the country some will say. How about protecting the people of the country who so badly need help.
Minister for Health James Reilly needs to wise up and stop trying to run his health portfolio like a business. His attempt to justify the primary care centres in his constituency is galling. How dare he forget that his portfolio is about all the people – particularly people who are ill, disabled and vulnerable. – Is mise,