TD's shame after child A&E visit

Snow Garden

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/government-td-kate-oconnells-shame-after-childs-ae-visit-38733687.html

A high-profile Government TD has admitted she was embarrassed to witness the overflowing A&E in Crumlin Children’s Hospital when she attended at the weekend with her sick child.

In a startling admission, Fine Gael backbencher Kate O’Connell described the state of the emergency department as “unacceptable”.

She said she was so embarrassed, she hoped nobody there would recognise her as a politician.

Ms O’Connell waited eight hours before “giving up” and bringing home her child, who was the “least sick” there.

The HSE is clearly a chaotic shambles. The same thing happened to my brother recently - he went to A&E with my 5 year old niece and left 8 hours later (4am) because he felt she would get better treatment at home. He said it was chaos in there and she was left sitting on a chair in A&E surrounded by sick adults on trolleys. It was a gamble to leave the hospital all the same because she was quite ill and running a high fever.

I am not sure why a government TD is shocked by her treatment in the A&E.

In Galway A&E about 10 years ago, there was a planned 'walk-through' by Brian Cowen who was Taoiseach at the time. Before the visit, porters removed all the trolleys to an unused room so that Cowen would not see the overcrowding on the corridors.

Is it possible that any government will tackle the wasteful monster that is the HSE?? Leo and Simon certainly are incapable.

Snow Garden

A quick google shows that HSE managers are still hiding the truth from the government.

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/hospital-denies-patients-were-hidden-in-room-during-taoiseach-visit-to-ae-36815461.html

Unbelievable that this has happened in Galway A&E again.

Salary Negotiator

She’s worried about her seat is all, trying to distance herself from Murphy in particular and Varadkar.

HSE is a shambles though.

Ulysses Gaze

Snow Garden wrote: »

Is it possible that any government will tackle the wasteful monster that is the HSE?? Leo and Simon certainly are incapable.

In a word, no.

The time to have done that would have been when the Troika were here. That was the time to make the savage cuts necessary to the HSE Admin Monster.

Now is too late and I really can't see it getting any better as the population grows.

colm_mcm

So was she in the right place? Was it an emergency?

s7ryf3925pivug

colm_mcm wrote: »

So was she in the right place? Was it an emergency?

could have been an accident

Plumbthedepths

I'm surprised she even went to a public hospital.

mickdw

She is a td in government and she didn't use her connections to get taken immediately?
Hats off to her for that at least.

Spanish Eyes

Anyone with half a brain would know how things are in A+E now whether adult or children.

As other pp said, election looming.

She is a Gov member now. Better for her to tackle Simon Harris or something.

God we are mugs aren't we.

Uriel.

I would question whether she should have been in an ED in the first place. Clearly the fact that she went home without being seen suggests she shouldn't have been there in the first place.

How many people attend ED every day that could be seen in an alternative setting.

That's not the say the current system isn't a mess though.

Spanish Eyes

What model is good in EU? I think France is good, but everyone pays something I think, don't quote me!

Better to spend a mint on researching good models, than thinking it will all be ok here.

un5byh7sqpd2x0

Plumbthedepths wrote: »

I'm surprised she even went to a public hospital.

There are no private paediatric hospitals

Iwantone

She’s only realising the state of the health service now she has to use the service herself. What an absolute donkey!

Did she not have a public run in with Coveney over the fact he didn’t back her sister.

If I was Varadkar she’d be first on my list for the boot.

Fr_Dougal

“TD in publicity stunt shocker”.

James Brown

Ulysses Gaze wrote: »

In a word, no.

The time to have done that would have been when the Troika were here. That was the time to make the savage cuts necessary to the HSE Admin Monster.

Now is too late and I really can't see it getting any better as the population grows.

Yep. Came and went under Kenny's tenure

mickdw wrote: »

She is a td in government and she didn't use her connections to get taken immediately?
Hats off to her for that at least.

I don't think she'd be that stupid.
It seems she got her pat on the head for acknowledging what the public and media have been writing and talking about for decades.

Plumbthedepths

Jayce Mango Neurologist wrote: »

There are no private paediatric hospitals

Considering she brought the child home after an 8 hour wait without being seen specialist services somehow seem unnecessary.

paw patrol

on paper she should be a great TD but in reality she is a horrible dose who offers nothing but her on sense of importance.

I get the vibe off her that she'd rather have Ciara Kellys job on newstalk blowing smoke up her own hole.

anyway I agree this is a solo run for some kudos rather than aimed at solving any issue.

James Brown

paw patrol wrote: »

on paper she should be a great TD but in reality she is a horrible dose who offers nothing but her on sense of importance.

I get the vibe off her that she'd rather have Ciara Kellys job on newstalk blowing smoke up her own hole.

anyway I agree this is a solo run for some kudos rather than aimed at solving any issue.

FF/FG need these kind of people so they can seem to have turned a corner and put a new face on themselves, (likely part of the reasoning for wasters Varadar, Harris and Murphy). People buy that sh*te. Fianna Fail are masters at it though.

TheValeyard

You know it takes a very brave person to be a Doctor or a nurse and deal with sick or terminally ill kids on a daily basis. No idea how those in A&E in Children's hospital do it which such happy faces, loving care and kindness.

bfa1509

Snow Garden wrote: »

In Galway A&E about 10 years ago, there was a planned 'walk-through' by Brian Cowen who was Taoiseach at the time. Before the visit, porters removed all the trolleys to an unused room so that Cowen would not see the overcrowding on the corridors.

Probably moved at the request of... Brian Cowen.

I know when Enda Kenny visited UHG a few years after, they painted only the corridors that he was passing through. In fairness, I blame the incompetence of the management. There's only so much money the government can throw at it.

Fr_Dougal

She’s best friends with Maria Bailey, her FB picture was of herself and Bailey until news broke about Bailey. Apparently she removed it 10min after.

Politics, baby.

Arghus

I'm pretty cynical about her suddenly realising that the health system is a joke, right before a General Election.

Either she's lived in a nice comfortable Fine Gael existence for the last two decades and this was her first experience of having her face rubbed into the faceful of shit that passes for a health service for the rest of us. If that's the case, no wonder she was shocked.

Spanish Eyes

Best to be a cynic first, and then roll back from that somehow, than being a believer first and forever be an idiot.

SEPT 23 1989

I have been to Tallaght children’s A&E on a few occasions and whoever is running it should be put in charge of the whole HSE

It works

Reputable Rog

Crocodile tears from a Tory TD.

HorrorScope

Come to University Hospital Limerick and let’s see you write an article by Thursday next week (you’ll probably be laying on a bed in a draughty hall until weds at the earliest)

Heroditas

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

I have been to Tallaght children’s A&E on a few occasions and whoever is running it should be put in charge of the whole HSE

It works

I've had to bring one of my daughters there twice and the service was superb. Far better than Crumlin anyway which is an awful run down dump.

mountai

How to "Cure the HSE" . All politicians ( and their families) should not be allowed access any hospital or medical service using private health insurance . Ditto for senior civil servants . Ditto for union leaders . All back room staff in HSE be sacked and rehired by committee of Doctors and Nurses in loco , including all management . All front line staff , immediate 40% salary increase and hiring of agency staff banned . Watch how quickly changes would happen .

Salary Negotiator

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

I have been to Tallaght children’s A&E on a few occasions and whoever is running it should be put in charge of the whole HSE

It works

I’ve no idea if this is related but I work for a medical sales company and Tallaght have a separate contract with us, most other hospitals in Ireland operate under a HSE regional contract.

SEPT 23 1989

Salary Negotiator wrote: »

I’ve no idea if this is related but I work for a medical sales company and Tallaght have a separate contract with us, most other hospitals in Ireland operate under a HSE regional contract.

Maybe that’s what’s going on

Beechwoodspark

Reputable Rog wrote: »

Crocodile tears from a Tory TD.

This.

All an act.

NIMAN

I'd say if you go to an A&E but get up and leave and head home cos you get fed up waiting, then you shouldn't have been there in the first place.

Your GP the next day would have been grand.

McMurphy

NIMAN wrote: »

I'd say if you go to an A&E but get up and leave and head home cos you get fed up waiting, then you shouldn't have been there in the first place.

Your GP the next day would have been grand.

Not always that easy a decision when there's kids involved though.

chosen1

Johnny Dogs wrote: »

Not always that easy a decision when there's kids involved though.

Good point. Many doctors, especially out of hours ones will send your child on to a & e as a precaution.

There is no where else that will deal with less serious issues unfortunately.

WealthyB

As disingenuous as they come is Kate. Owns a chain of pharmacies but apparently has no clue of conditions in Crumlin A&E.

jam_mac_jam

NIMAN wrote: »

I'd say if you go to an A&E but get up and leave and head home cos you get fed up waiting, then you shouldn't have been there in the first place.

Your GP the next day would have been grand.

How are you supposed to know that if you are not a doctor. You don't take risks with a sick child

Humour Me

She’s a bloody pharmacist herself. How can she claim not to know how bad the health system is!

NIMAN

jam_mac_jam wrote: »

How are you supposed to know that if you are not a doctor. You don't take risks with a sick child

So why would you leave without your child being seen?

sdanseo

It's very simple maths. Population increases, build more hospitals.

The state of some of them s is appalling. It's like watching the news from a warzone. Even Beaumont only built in 1989 looks like it's never been updated since the day it opened.

They're falling apart and the majority are still littered with massive relics of the Catholic Church - crosses and those horrible wooden-armed chairs seem to be everywhere.

Ulysses Gaze

WealthyB wrote: »

As disingenuous as they come is Kate. Owns a chain of pharmacies but apparently has no clue of conditions in Crumlin A&E.

Just a typical politician.

Geuze

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

What model is good in EU? I think France is good, but everyone pays something I think, don't quote me!

Better to spend a mint on researching good models, than thinking it will all be ok here.

French is mainly financed by insurance, 100% of pop have insurance.

Geuze

sdanseo wrote: »

It's very simple maths. Population increases, build more hospitals.

We have too many, approx 50.

ArchXStanton

I've been in 3 different hospitals the last 2 weeks, with both parents and a visit myself, the number one thing that struck me was the amount of foreign nationals, there's way too many people here for the health system that's in place, I remarked to the receptionist this morning that the place was crazy busy and she told me that it was slow, the previous day there was a line out the door

markodaly

Salary Negotiator wrote: »

She’s worried about her seat is all, trying to distance herself from Murphy in particular and Varadkar.

HSE is a shambles though.

Yeap. I mentioned before, the HSE cannot be reformed by one man, woman or even party. It will require buy in from ALL political parties and hard decisions will have to be made, which will put some peoples noses out of joint.

The health service has been over polticised for far too long. Electing a government who promises to fix the health service is folly.

To add, we have never spent so much on health in this country.

markodaly

Matt Barrett wrote: »

Yep. Came and went under Kenny's tenure

You are forgetting that Kenny had a Tánaiste, a Labour Party Tánaiste.
It was a coalition government and Labour were never going to take out the knife and cut/reform the HSE as their paymasters in SIPTU would have given them a quick slap across the face.

It sure would have been interesting though had FG an overall majority.

TheValeyard

TheValeyard wrote: »

You know it takes a very brave person to be a Doctor or a nurse and deal with sick or terminally ill kids on a daily basis. No idea how those in A&E in Children's hospital do it which such happy faces, loving care and kindness.

It's not brave at all. It's their job. No different than been a teacher or a binman.

Mezzotint

It's a shambles and they don't seem to know how to fix it. The Irish health service just seems to chew up and destroy minister after minister and continues on its merry way providing utterly disastrous and chaotic services at a huge cost to the tax payer for what we're getting. We are paying amongst the highest per capita public spend on health in Europe, yet the services are diabolical. It's not a funding or government penny pinching issue, that's for sure.

It needs an external audit done by a team of international experts who've no skin in the game here at all and the report they produce needs to be acted upon, even if we have to have implement legislation or even get past constitutional barriers to do so.

All I know is I have been in horrible situations in A&E with various family members and I also had the laughable situation where a relative of mine was getting an elective surgical operation in a private hospital and an anaesthetist wanted payment IN CASH and literally asked her in the theatre. It's a while ago at this stage but my jaw dropped so far it's still not quite recovered.

The whole system is a total mess and it needs a cross-party approach and a committee that's given some kind of leeway and fireproofing to deal with it. There are vested interests all over the system and huge inertia to overcome.

Until that's done, we aren't going to get anywhere and this 'crisis' situation will just roll on and on and on forever. Plodding on with this unsustainable mess has to stop. It's a huge problem and we need serious political bravery to solve it. The common enemy is the huge inertia of system itself and the vast array of vested interest trying to protect status quos.

I'd argue for a citizens convention on health, enhance Slainté Care and get serious about consensus building about a way forward so that we can get out of this being a political football and actually attempt solve it.

Calhoun

Salary Negotiator wrote: »

She’s worried about her seat is all, trying to distance herself from Murphy in particular and Varadkar.

HSE is a shambles though.

Indeed i was quite surprised she is having a go considering in public, Simon Harris and his camp wont be happy.

Calhoun

Mezzotint wrote: »

It's a shambles and they don't seem to know how to fix it. The Irish health service just seems to chew up and destroy minister after minister and continues on its merry way providing utterly disastrous and chaotic services at a huge cost to the tax payer for what we're getting. We are paying amongst the highest per capita public spend on health in Europe, yet the services are diabolical. It's not a funding or government penny pinching issue, that's for sure.

It needs an external audit done by a team of international experts who've no skin in the game here at all and the report they produce needs to be acted upon, even if we have to have implement legislation or even get past constitutional barriers to do so.

All I know is I have been in horrible situations in A&E with various family members and I also had the laughable situation where a relative of mine was getting an elective surgical operation in a private hospital and an anaesthetist wanted payment IN CASH and literally asked her in the theatre. It's a while ago at this stage but my jaw dropped so far it's still not quite recovered.

The whole system is a total mess and it needs a cross-party approach and a committee that's given some kind of leeway and fireproofing to deal with it. There are vested interests all over the system and huge inertia to overcome.

Until that's done, we aren't going to get anywhere and this 'crisis' situation will just roll on and on and on forever. Plodding on with this unsustainable mess has to stop. It's a huge problem and we need serious political bravery to solve it. The common enemy is the huge inertia of system itself and the vast array of vested interest trying to protect status quos.

I'd argue for a citizens convention on health, enhance Slainté Care and get serious about consensus building about a way forward so that we can get out of this being a political football and actually attempt solve it.

I will add on to the points you have made by commenting on the generations of special needs children we are leaving behind. We have early intervention schemes with waiting lists that are so long children are exiting them before they get seen.

Then you have the likes of the poor kids with the curved spine. It seems like you only get proper treatment if your private or you go on the national media.

The worst thing is that addressing allot of issues much early is actually cheaper in the long run but we are far too short sighted for that in Ireland.

If she is truly ashamed, she will hound Simon Harris and Varadkar and if there isn't a suitable response forthcoming, she'll resign from the party.

Calhoun

Deleted User wrote: »

If she is truly ashamed, she will hound Simon Harris and Varadkar and if there isn't a suitable response forthcoming, she'll resign from the party.

Neck on her like a jockeys bollox, i really don't think she is going to do any of this.