Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I know from meeting with hospital management that they are very proactive and are trying at all times to alleviate pressures. Sometimes, constituents contact me to say they have an appointment in maybe six months for a hernia or something. When I talk to them further, it turns out the appointment is only an initial one to see the consultant. It does not take into account the time they will have to wait on a waiting list for an operation. That is too long. Some of them will end up using the cross-border directive but they should not have to do that, as it can place a financial pressure on them because they have to pay upfront for it, although I know they will recoup the money.

Another lady came to me who was threatened with a miscarriage on a Friday. She was just over three months pregnant. When she went to the hospital it was Monday before she could be scanned to establish whether she was having a miscarriage because no sonographers were there to operate the machines over the weekend. She was not the only one. The woman concerned ended up having a miscarriage. Another lady went to the hospital with a bleed but it ended up that her baby was safe. However, it is terrible to have to wait a whole weekend to establish that. That is not okay. The woman made the point to me that if men were having babies, that probably would not happen. She felt she did not get the care she deserved. She was even examined in a room that was not a ward. It was not even private; it was a storeroom.

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