A woman who is faced with a €75-per-night charge after lying on a hospital trolley for four days has hit out at the HSE.
Deirdre Tuohy, who has a history of blood clots, went to Our Lady of Lourdes hospital on Friday evening last, after suffering worrying symptoms.
Speaking to The Independent, she explained: “I came into casualty at 8.30pm on Friday night because my left hand side had gone numb.
She noted that she was seen by a doctor within two hours, “but after that I was left sitting in a chair until 3.30am on Saturday.”
She explained that she was then given a trolley, which was moved onto a day ward on Saturday. She said that when the day patients went home, she was left on the trolley, and remained there on Sunday.
After learning that the overnight charge for an in-patient is €75, Ms. Tuohy said:
“I’ve worked all my life, I pay my taxes. I want the Government to start looking after the people of Ireland. I cannot afford to pay bills like this.”
Ms. Tuohy does not have a medical card, despite her son Jake having a rare genetic condition.
She explained: “He has a ‘doctor only’ card. That is no good to us, because if something happens we have to bring him to the hospital. They may as well give us nothing,”
Although Ms. Tuohy had only praise for the “brilliant” nurses, she said: “I have to stand up though, because what is going on is not fair. What about the older people? This is not just about me.”
Former Mayor of Drogheda and Independent Alliance candidate Cllr Kevin Callan said:
“I am inundated with complaints about the bed situation.
“It appears over the weekend situations arise where people are located to different hallways of the hospital.”
A spokesperson for the hospital told the paper that it was operating the escalation protocol required when waiting times and trolley numbers reach a certain level, which involves placing some patients who are in the A&E on trolleys into wards.
