The health service in Ireland.

Archeron · 05-04-2008 12:52am #1

Over the past 6-7 years, my family has suffered incredibly due to the incompetence of the health service in Ireland and the effect it has had on our family and our lives.
We never really heard others speak of their similar experiences, because health was never really something that was discussed in the general arena, but the recent media exposures of people who have suffered greatly through misdiagnosis or incorrect treatment has shown that so many of us are at awful pain because of bad management or bad treatment. That is from hospital staff, cleaners, caterers, GP’s, the lot.

The recent protest in Dublin showed that a lot of people are suffering needlessly (considering the money being pumped in) and conversation with people generally shows that so many people have been touched by bad illness and poor treatment of it in the Irish health service.

Recent conversation on local radio about the new North East are hospital (Louth Meath radio) has people commenting on how the County of Louth (Drogheda in particular) deserves a new hospital more so than South Meath due to higher new population densities North of Navan, while people from places like Trim and Navan comment on the inefficiencies of Navan “hospital” and the service its providing. THEY need the new hospital more. Don’t we all?

Is it really at the point in health whereby neighbouring counties are finding themselves in competition to get the basic levels of healthcare that one of the richest countries in the world (ahem) should have?

Looking at the overcrowding of A&E all over the country, there is such terrible, painful problems. Be is waiting for beds in long term residential care, childrens dentistry, community nursing, or any of the hundreds of applicable areas, it seems that there is so much lacking, and so many people are hurting pointlessly without the care they deserve. So many of us can tell stories involving the health service that would break your heart.

At what point can the failings of a countries health service and the effect that has on the patients and their families actually begin to bring down the country itself?
I would imagine we are not far from that point. So many people are hurting and there is so little planned to alleviate that. Nurses are pissed off, families are pissed off, patients are dying, and doctors work 53 hours a day.
Where does this go from here?

Dudess · 05-04-2008 12:55am

Oh man it's a mess. The Health Information and Quality Authority was set up last year as a kind of watchdog/regulator. It's been doing reports on Rebecca O'Malley, Leas Cross etc. I went for a job in its press office and didn't get it - was kinda disappointed. Now I'm so glad. Just imagine the pressure, not to mention how depressing it could get...

I recently visited a friend in Cork University Hospital - good Christ. People on trolleys everywhere. Among them one really old woman with a huge bruise on her cheek (probably had a bad fall). I just felt sickened at the lack of dignity afforded her...

Trojan911 · 05-04-2008 1:13am

Huge Stupid Excuses ... It sucks big time.......... I'm doing a couple stories on negligent cases at the moment.

Archeron · 05-04-2008 1:15am

Where do we go though? There is so much pain in every imaginable way and so many of us are suffering. Its (IMO) the nastiest thing in this country.

WoollyRedHat · 05-04-2008 2:12am

Get that drumm guy out of the HSE for a start...

Miss Fluff · 05-04-2008 2:23am

Hopefully the gorgeous Mary will be given the push fairly shortly too. I think it's about to implode, can't see it continuing on this slippery slope for much longer.

Spyral · 05-04-2008 2:41am

bring back the nuns !! nothing went wrong when they ran the hospitals !

leninbenjamin · 05-04-2008 3:49am

far too many vested interests simply. that's your problem. everyone points the blame at someone else, and in the end nothing gets done.4

edit: Harney aint the problem. in fact, considering the current cabinet she's about as good as we can get. its just too easy to lump the blame on her, when in reality the failings are at basically every single level.

Senna · 05-04-2008 3:54am

Miss Fluff wrote: »

Hopefully the gorgeous Mary will be given the push fairly shortly too. I think it's about to implode, can't see it continuing on this slippery slope for much longer.

but who else wants to do the job, i'm guessing anyone smart enough wouldn't touch it with a 10foot barge pole. It's a disaster and it wont be fixed without major spending being put in first.
The first thing that would need to be done is cut down the number of administration staff, but of course their in good paying public jobs, so they cant be touched:rolleyes: Maybe if so much money wasn't being wasted on this, more money could be put into providing essential services.

tech77 · 05-04-2008 3:58am

leninbenjamin wrote: »

everyone points the blame at someone else, and in the end nothing gets done.

Never a truer word spoken i'd say.

Collie D · 05-04-2008 11:24am

Unfortunately I can't see anything changing in the near future. When it comes to Health money should be no object but we have recruitment freezes, towns being forced to go into competition with each other for facilities, budget cuts. It seems the HSE's main job is to save money rather than help people.

Dudess · 05-04-2008 11:37am

Trojan911 wrote: »

Huge Stupid Excuses ... It sucks big time.......... I'm doing a couple stories on negligent cases at the moment.

Good luck to you if you need to get someone from the HSE to talk. When I worked in radio, trying to get Brendan Drumm was akin to getting the pope.

holly1 · 05-04-2008 11:37am

I think the whole suitition is very FRIGHTING, I am so scared of me or any of my family having to go into hospital.If I have to go to hospital,I think the stress will kill me.

salonfire · 05-04-2008 11:54am

How can the HSE reform if people are going to object to everything.

When the proposal for specialist cancer services was accepted, that plank Enda Kenny was involved in a protest at the removal of cancer services in Castlebar. Castlebar is an hours drive from Galway, its not the other end of the earth.

And I don't think the situation in the North East is going get solved any time soon with people digging their heels.

WoollyRedHat · 05-04-2008 11:55am

leninbenjamin wrote: »

far too many vested interests simply. that's your problem. everyone points the blame at someone else, and in the end nothing gets done.4

edit: Harney aint the problem. in fact, considering the current cabinet she's about as good as we can get. its just too easy to lump the blame on her, when in reality the failings are at basically every single level.

The HSE was described as an adminstrative monster by the Irish Medical organisation, we have to begin somewhere and I think that assessment is very revealing.

Cool_CM · 05-04-2008 3:03pm

I love Germany and The Health Insurance Card, Gp Fees are a tenner per year quarter and hospital visits are free if you have the card(in my experience), Also I didn't have to pay for anti-biotics. I should be sick more often!

Diairist · 05-04-2008 4:09pm

Look at what Dudess mentiontioned re that Quality... Authority. It would be really depressing to list the extra quango's, semi semi state bodies and committees that were set up to take advantage of the Celtic Tige - sorry, to assist the HSE in delivering a health service. Leas Cross etc. why whinge about a report not being published? 2 bodies - Northern Area and Eastern area - got experts' reports. This was after a crowd called S S I had found the problem but it was the H S E itself that closed it. An then there's the consultants working for Madam Minister, those working for Mr Drumm, and those selling advice to the Department of Health. And the cost of ferrying patients daily from Mallow to Cork because the 2 radiologists chosen for Mallow cannot be employed in a new, empty unit in Mallow. No wonder they're on chairs in A & E's

Collie D · 05-04-2008 4:33pm

salonfire wrote: »

How can the HSE reform if people are going to object to everything.

When the proposal for specialist cancer services was accepted, that plank Enda Kenny was involved in a protest at the removal of cancer services in Castlebar. Castlebar is an hours drive from Galway, its not the other end of the earth.

And I don't think the situation in the North East is going get solved any time soon with people digging their heels.

So you think people should just put up with this third world health service...and no I'm not sensationalising, visit any A&E in the country and see what I mean.

EamonnKeane · 05-04-2008 6:44pm

Senna wrote: »

but who else wants to do the job, i'm guessing anyone smart enough wouldn't touch it with a 10foot barge pole.

Bev Flynn might take it on ... it's a plan so crazy it just might work!

Dudess · 05-04-2008 7:43pm

Spyral wrote: »

bring back the nuns !! nothing went wrong when they ran the hospitals !

My mum who's a nurse always says that - and she's by no means a god-botherer. For one, the standard of cleanliness was absolutely off the chart back when she was training/working in hospitals (60s/early 70s). It was exceptionally strict but things got run more smoothly. If anyone's read Atonement (or seen the film) well you know how absolutely regimented the hospital is where the girl is training... my mother says that's exactly what life was like for her as a student nurse - even if it was 20 odd years later.

galwayrush · 05-04-2008 11:45pm

My Wife has been seriously ill for many years now. sometimes we can get treatment on the Public Health system, but other times, because of the seriousness of her illness we have to go private, because sometimes she needs the treatment a.s.a.p., and the public system would delay life saving treatment for months. We can't get insurance so as far as i'm concerned, out health system is a ****ing farce, out pathetic goverment has poured countless millions into it and actually managed to make it worse. Celtic Tiger my arse, it's a ****ing joke. I really want to say more, but thinking about it, and after experiencing it ,i better sign off so i can calm down.:mad:

Dudess · 05-04-2008 11:50pm

That's awful. Sorry to hear about your wife, galwayrush.

galwayrush · 05-04-2008 11:56pm

Dudess wrote: »

That's awful. Sorry to hear about your wife, galwayrush.

Thank you.:)
Sorry about the rant, i have to add that the people on the front line are excellent and i can;'t praise them highly enough.:cool:

Sherifu · 06-04-2008 12:01am

Hmm, where to start with the Health System in Ireland. My experiences with it have been few thankfully. My girlfriend was on holiday in Ireland last year and picked up a flu. As a complication she got an abscess in her throat which the antibiotics couldn't get to. As a result we were sent to the hospital by the GP. After the initial exam she was left waiting in the bed for 3 hours, another hour on a trolley and finally she was seen by the ENT specialist. It was by no means a hardship and she recovered fairly quickly after it but I remember thinking if it takes this long for a routine procedure, people that have serious problems must be going through hell.
My own opinion on it is the health system has gotten lost in bureaucracy and bean counting. A lot of paper pushers employed and not enough nurses and doctors. One other thing, there is still a cap as far as i'm aware on the number of Irish doctors trained every year. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable can inform me as to why this is.

randylonghorn · 06-04-2008 12:14am

While I wouldn't be a fan of Harneys by any stretch of the imagination, the reality is that the Health portfolio has always been seen as a poisoned chalice, and many ministers have been landed there when they were seen as being too popular / a threat to the Taoiseach of the day (M. Martin probably the most recent example, and boy did it tarnish his shine!)

It's almost impossible for any Minister to solve the mess, because most of the steps necessay would be unpopular either politically (e.g. ref. Kenny canvassing in Castlebar, to protect his local vote, even tho' he had to know there was a lot of logic to the policy), or will stand on the toes of big, powerful unions.

And yes, it is a huge pity hospitals were ever taken out of the hands of the nuns. Not a great fan of the institutional church either, but whatever validity there might be in the arguments why hospitals should be in public hands, the reality is that public hands aren't half as good at running them!

Steve · 06-04-2008 12:27am

leninbenjamin wrote: »

edit: Harney aint the problem. in fact, considering the current cabinet she's about as good as we can get. its just too easy to lump the blame on her, when in reality the failings are at basically every single level.

I have to disagree.

As far as the health system goes - she is responsible. End of. She has the power to change what's wrong yet lacks the intelligence to to so.

It sickens me every time I hear 98FM start their yearly campaign to give a better quality of life to terminally ill children that the state can't afford while MH jets off to the superbowl at our expense:mad:

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 06-04-2008 12:46am

Where are all the people who voted 'yes' in the 'are you sad to see Bertie go?' poll?

Collie D · 06-04-2008 12:51am

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

Where are all the people who voted 'no' in the 'are you sad to see Bertie go?' poll?

I didn't see that poll but I would include myself as one....why?

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 06-04-2008 1:00am

Collie D wrote: »

I didn't see that poll but I would include myself as one....why?

After eleven "friutful" years, they seemed to think that everything under his leadership was hunky dory.

randylonghorn · 06-04-2008 1:04am

Wouldn't that be those who voted "yes" ... as in they WERE sad to see him go?

Sherifu · 06-04-2008 1:06am

randylonghorn wrote: »

Wouldn't that be those who voted "yes" ... as in they WERE sad to see him go?

That had me confused. Should be yes.

The health service in Ireland.

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