A Clare man who collapsed and died at his daughter’s wedding last weekend had been waiting on a heart bypass.
Tommy O’Brien was dancing at his daughter Karen’s wedding reception on Saturday night when he suffered a heart attack and was rushed to hospital.
The popular 70-year-old was pronounced dead at University Hospital Limerick and his son Eoin has since hit out at the HSE, saying that Tommy would still be alive if he hadn’t had to wait so long for a heart bypass.
“The truth of the matter though is that Tommy shouldn’t be laying in front of us here today. He was due for a heart by-pass operation last September and it was continually postponed due to waiting lists – well that waiting list is now one name short and we are down a wonderful man,” he told the congregation at Tommy’s funeral this week.
He added that the family’s anger at losing the Quin man was “hard to quantify” and called on local representatives to ‘do more’ to improve the Irish health service.
“There are political figures in the congregation today. We can accept your sympathy and your kind words, but we shouldn’t have to accept this level of health service in a first world country. To you I say ‘please do more’.”
Photo via Irish Mirror
