Natasha Newsome Drennan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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Most of the time when a child goes into hospital, they are given the wrong antibiotics to start with. It is about three days before the results of the blood tests come back, which show what the correct antibiotic should be.

If a vet comes to my yard and a calf or a horse is sick, the general response is to throw an antibiotic at them. These are vets. If the animal does not get better after a couple of days, we call the vet back and then they will do a blood test and we will go from there. That is generally how it works, except with the horses. Because I know my animals so well, I will ask for a blood test to be done there and then and to be sent away, just in case the antibiotic is not right.