Surgeon forced to search wards for staff to assist operation at Sligo University Hospital

A surgeon was forced to go from ward to ward in search of staff to assist him in performing emergency surgery on a six-year-old boy. This is according to a local woman who contacted Deputy Martin Kenny about the incident at Sligo University Hospital who, in turn, brought the matter up in the Dáil last week.

The Sinn Fein deputy described how a constituent contacted him following a medical emergency with her son, that saw the boy suffering from a burst appendix.

Addressing Minister Donnelly, Deputy Kenny stated the boy was forced to wait hours at both the out of hours GP service and subsequently at the SUH Emergency Department.

Speaking in the Dáil Deputy Martin described the incident: “Finally it was recognised that he needed to go to the emergency department, sent there, waited from 6pm in the evening until 11:30pm at night to get an operation where he had a perforated appendix.

“The one surgeon on call had to hunt up and down the hospital to get a surgical team together to carry out that operation and the family have said how grateful they are to that surgeon for his efforts because they saved the child's life. But the mother says here that this begs the question what would have happened if they didn't get a team together or if the one surgeon on call was already performing surgery on another patient.”