'Surely we can do better' - Anger as injured boy waits almost 12 hours in Midlands hospital A&E
There is growing frustration over waiting times at the A&E Department of Tullamore Hospital after an injured boy waited almost 12 hours before being seen this week.
The boy's father Peter O Halloran took to Twitter in the early hours of Wednesday to share his experience.
Posting at 4.17am, he said: "Attending A&E Tullamore with son following a football injury tonight. Arrived circa 1030pm - now 4am. Not even X-ray conducted. Some older people here now over 11 hours and not seen by doctor. No urgency, few staff, dreadful service to the citizen." He tagged the HSE in his post on Twitter.
He followed up at 8.30am on Wednesday morning, saying, "Just for info - 8.30am and still not seen by a doctor. Dislocated shoulder and 10 hours waiting. Surely we can do better." Again, he tagged the HSE's Twitter account in the post but received no response.
His son was eventually seen at 9am, ten and a half hours after arrival, and a broken collarbone was confirmed.
Many other Twitter users echoed Peter's frustrations, including TD Matt Shanahan, a long-time campaigner for improved health services in his native Waterford, who posted:
While the HSE said they "cannot comment on details relating to individual cases," they added: "The Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore is currently experiencing a very busy period with an increased number of people attending the Emergency Department.
"All patients who present for treatment in an Emergency Department are triaged and treated in accordance with their clinical requirements. The escalation policy is activated and patients are being advised that they will experience delays as the hospital manages the peak in attendance and additional demand on the service.
"The Hospital regrets any delays experienced by our patients. Hospital Management are working to implement measures so that patients can transfer to wards and hospital beds as quickly as possible and are working with Community Health Organisations to minimise discharge delays for patients."
The hospital has issued a number of notices to the public through the media in recent weeks warning of huge delays in A&E services.
The public, as evidenced by the reaction to the situation above, are demanding the HSE act to bolster the A&E Department at Tullamore Hospital to tackle such long waiting times.