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Child Item

On-line Petition for Billy Burke

leahcim

This is bureaucracy gone mad.

“Billy is a young man from Killorglin Co.Kerry. He is just 29yrs old. He suffers from cystic fibrosis. Despite fighting really hard all his life to keep as healthy as possible, he needs a double lung transplant NOW or he will die. At the moment, all lung transplants on Irish patients are carried out in the UK. Billy is on a waiting list in a Hospital in Manchester. However, due to an arrangement with the Irish Govt. all donor lungs from Ireland go directly to a Hospital in Newcastle and are offered to patients on their list. Because of this arrangement, Billy is being denied his only chance to live.

He needs Irish donor lungs to be sent to the Hospital in Manchester immediately, so they can save his life.” – Lisa (Billy’s Sister).

You can do this by registering your signature in an on-line petition at
http://www.savebilly.org

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Lump

Done

John

alleepally

I saw the news item but didn't see a mention of the website so thank you.

Signed.

Ivan

Done also.

Saw this on the news.

Tell me, why cant he have the operation in Newcastle?

alleepally

I've read through the Press Release on the site and Billy's letter and I'm totally confused. please someone explain this if they know more or can understand the issues better

Agent Smith

done and done

Funky

I heard him on the radio friday morning, really sad and emotional interview

Paddy20

This tragic story of Billy's intolerable situation is another grim reminder of the true reality of our abysmal so called Irish Health Service.

We are being taken for mugs, and it is time that Irish citizens received humane professional treatment for life threatening conditions here in Ireland.

Poor management at the highest levels within the Department of Health have left us with a shambles of a Health service for the average citizen.

I believe we have a two tier treatment protocol. One for ordinary citizens and another fast-track treatment for the wealthy. This is indefensible.

Billy Burke will I believe now begin to get the priority treatment he is entitled too. I just hope that it is not too late ?... Good luck, Billy.

Paddy McLean
Ballybofey, County Donegal.

[Signed, of course.]

Dathai

Signed

alleepally

Paddy20, for the benefit of me and others can you please explain the crux of the matter in the case. I read the site and couldn't quite figure out where the blame lies?

Kone

done and done

therecklessone

Signed.

Saw this on the news during the week. Billy's dignity and desire to fight this puts some people to shame. I really hope this works out for him.

catsup

thats my good deed for the day taken care of. i hope he gets what he needs.

Draupnir

Signed.

That Micheal Martin chap is a joke, all he does he talk about his great record which isnt all so great.

Deadwing

Done

JackKelly

Just thought i'd show you some other peoples view on the issue:look at this

therecklessone

Am I the only one getting a "You cannot view messages on this board." from that link of TimAy's?

bizmark

Signed

sunbeam

Signed

dsimpson

Poor guy...

As for Micheal Martin...he seems to be blind by the fact that in 10 years time there is going to be an epidemic of alcholism hitting our health service...action is required now!!!

stormkeeper

Signed.

Paddy20

aleepally,

Re: Your question to me, my reply is as follows:-

The crux of the matter in the Billy Burke case is imo. The mindset that administrators of Public Health Services here and in the UK are allowed too get away with, i.e. someone who is not medically qualified can make a decision that will in reality have a direct effect on whether a particular patient is treated or not.

Therefore you can be literally condemned to die, because you have a treatable medical condition which will kill you if you are not given the required medical procedure, which is available.

Having read Billys Press Release. I personally believe that in his case " The blame lies " with our Minister of Health, Mr Micheal Martin. I am not blaming him for Billys critical condition, but he has the power and the responsibility to intervene and correct this injustice. However, it appears that up to now he has failed to act in a decisive manner on Billys case.

Also, I am extremely puzzled as to why the 'Underutilised' Private patients fund has not been made use of in Billy's case. This fund is available for paying for our ordinary citizens to be treated anywhere in the world, if they are suffering from a ' Life threatening ' condition that currently can not be treated here at home. Basically, it would mean that Billy could bypass the idiot in Newcastle or elsewhere in the UK immediately 'as a private patient' who can be treated anywhere as the funds are available.

Once again, I place the blame at the door of the administrators. Who in my opinion are generally a bunch of spineless pen pushers more concerned with waiting on their early retirement pension than any individual patients - well being. Again the ultimate blame and responsibility must rest with the individual 'where the buck stops' and I believe in this case. The Minister of Health, Mr Micheal Martin is where the buck stops.

I hope my view on your question is of some help, and I welcome any comments from anyone who disagrees with me.

P.

JackKelly

sorry forgot about that.I fowarded this to gamefaqs.com Ireland forums.
basically, got a reply along the lines of this

From: ov3rd0se | Posted: 4/16/2004 8:03:42 PM | Message Detail
why save him though?.. whats so important about this guy that we need to sign?

hundreds of ppl need liver and whatever transplants and you dont see them making a petition for this ****

---

From: the1trueSolidSnake | Posted: 4/17/2004 8:16:06 AM | Message Detail
I have to agree with ov3rd0se there, there could be people who deserve the transplant more than him. I saw the thing on the news about him. Its sad but didnt they say there could be a chance he could die or something during the operation. So I think it would be better to give it to someone else who has a better chance.
---
From: hig2002 | Posted: 4/17/2004 8:52:06 AM | Message Detail
Pshh,
whats so great about him?

It's a scapegoat, forget about it.
---

From: solskjaer20 | Posted: 4/17/2004 9:55:30 AM | Message Detail
Sigh, Jesus what if he was your brother or something?

*Signs*.

---

Tellox

signed

leahcim

aleepally,

I believe the problem is that the irish government signed a contract with a hospital in newcastle to do all irish heart and lung transplants part of that contract is that the newcastle hospital gets all the organs that irish people donate. The people in newcastle have refused Billy on a technicality (some medical problem that Billy had in the past which most hospitals dont see as a problem to prevent transplantation).

Billy then went to a hospital in Manchester who assessed him and said that they believed he was a good candidate for a transplant and they would do it if one of the organs being held by the hospital in newcastle could be released, I believe they are refusing to do this.

The hope is the the irish government (Micheal Martin) can put pressure on the newcastle people to give an organ to manchester hospital.

alleepally

paddy20, leachim

thanks. I understand now. Crazy situation. Paddy20 you make a very good point about the patient treatment fund and the fact that he should be able to go outside the UK route if necessary. It's amazing, Michael Martin can be ever so decisive about smoking bans and getting great headlines all around the world for it, but when it comes down to real life issues such as this he leaves a lot to be desired.

As each day passes I'm sorry to say that I get more and more p1ssed off with this government and their attitude. We keep hearing about what great economic developments the country has made (and it has) but when basic things like health aren't taken care of and we have barristers getting rich on our money for tribunals that are going nowhere (Mahan has cost over €100m so far!!!) I think getting out of this country is seeming more attractive all the time.