Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I want to share my experience of the emergency department. Last Tuesday night my sister, Mary, was very sick and was taken very ill. She was given a letter by her doctor stating she had to go to the emergency department immediately. She had a condition called Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which is like shingles in the ear and with which there is a very strong possibility of losing one's hearing or having one's face paralysed. In any event, I brought her into the emergency department. She was as weak as a kitten and she sat in the emergency department. Eventually I got a very nice nurse to bring her in and get her on a trolley because she was about to faint. It was at 8 p.m. last Tuesday evening that she was admitted. We knew by the letter which she had been given that she had to be put on intravenous antibiotics straight away. Unfortunately she did not get to see a doctor until 7 a.m. the next morning and did not receive antibiotics until 8 a.m.

I am not just talking about Mary. What I really want to talk about is what I saw in there. It was like something out of a war zone. That is the only way I can describe it. The poor doctors and nurses were trying to walk around trolleys. They could hardly move with the trolley situation. The old people there were crying out in pain and crying out for their loved ones. My heart went out to the doctors and nurses. At one point I pleaded with one of the nurses to try to see if we could get Mary on this antibiotic. We were worried because she could lose her livelihood if she lost her hearing. That is what we were concerned about. The poor nurse told me that they did not even have her chart yet.I repeat that this emergency department was like a war zone. I do not know how the doctors and nurses manage. The nurse with whom I spoke was glazed over and almost traumatised by the amount of work she had to do. Could the Minister come to the House to give us an update on the progress being made in emergency departments in hospitals all over this country? One old woman broke my heart. She was so frightened. She did not know where she was or what was going on. Another man came in with a heart attack while another woman was screaming for the nurse to come and help her but there were no nurses available. They were run off their feet. Hopefully, Mary will be okay. She has just got out of hospital. I would like to ask the Minister to give us an update on the progress being made in emergency departments in hospitals all over this country.