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UCHG A&E

Shakti

Friend spent 14 hours in A&E last night,
When are Conneely, Crowe et al. going to get up off their arses and do something about this? It's like an episode of MASH in there, stress levels are through the roof, people are suffering and mistakes are being made.

The sheer ignorance of Conneely sighting concerns about Hospital Smokers while its a warzone in A&E.

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Fozzie Bear

Zzippy wrote: »

I know its not feasible for everyone, but I'd rather spend the money and go to the Galway Clinic...

I work with a lady in her mid 50's. She had a fall last year and fractured her leg in two places. Thinking similarly to you she went to the A&E in the Galway Clinic paid a Kings ransom, got seen to, X-ray taken etc and sent on her way with a "badly sprained knee". Two days later went back again as she was in agony, they told her the same thing again and gave her more pain killers. That night she went to UCHG got seen to and told she had a double fracture and was put into a cast immediately. Another man here in work got messed around in a similar fashion in the Clinic until he went to the Galvia in Renmore. They diagnosed a hernia and he had an operation the following week there.

Paying more money does not neccessarily always guarantee better service.....

neemish

I'd avoid the Clinic at all costs...just don't hear good stories about it

fishy fishy

Fozzie Bear wrote: »

I work with a lady in her mid 50's. She had a fall last year and fractured her leg in two places. Thinking similarly to you she went to the A&E in the Galway Clinic paid a Kings ransom, got seen to, X-ray taken etc and sent on her way with a "badly sprained knee". Two days later went back again as she was in agony, they told her the same thing again and gave her more pain killers. That night she went to UCHG got seen to and told she had a double fracture and was put into a cast immediately. Another man here in work got messed around in a similar fashion in the Clinic until he went to the Galvia in Renmore. They diagnosed a hernia and he had an operation the following week there.

Paying more money does not neccessarily always guarantee better service.....

bon secours = galvia = calvary (how many remember Calvary) LOL

biko

Shakti

Unless of course biko you actually die while your waiting, or on a trolley while being ignored in a corridor or in a waiting room because the place is so busy nobody notices you, or you're on your own without an advocate. You may note I do not share your sense of 'humour' and is no more than a cheap dig well done you.

biko

I understand your annoyance at your friend having to wait 14 hours but it's not like the nurses and doctors are just drinking tea instead. Each time a new patient arrives the less important cases are bumped down a notch on the triage list.
What did Conneely, Crowe et al. say when you approached them about this issue?

Shakti

biko wrote: »

I understand your annoyance at your friend having to wait 14 hours but it's not like the nurses and doctors are just drinking tea instead. Each time a new patient arrives the less important cases are bumped down a notch on the triage list.
What did Conneely, Crowe et al. say when you approached them about this issue?

Thanks I just felt like it was an important issue that should be being discussed in the Galway City forum. So far its been insinuated that I and patients who raise the issue of the shambles of an A&E this city has are "difficult", "impatient", "lacking empathy" or have an "attitude", these labels are in reality more fitting of the people insinuating than the soft targets they are aimed at.

Believe it or not I have a firm intellectual grasp on what 'triage' means and a personal appreciation of how hard A&E staff work, having said all of this the place is completely inadequate to say the least and it's not the patients fault but its left to them to do something about it, in a word ...outrageous.

At election time it was top of the list for C&C. Bit like it was for Gilmore and Kenny and the promise that Roscommon A&E wouldn't be closed.

_Whimsical_

It's great that some people have good experiences in A&E in UCHG but there are too many having bad experiences.Some of the problem is down to management there. I mentioned earlier a terminally ill person who died one week after being admitted to A&E and was left sleeping the night on a chair and then 12 hours on a trolley, all the time in serious pain. In that case a bed was found for that person only when their relations decided it could wait no longer and made a scene and caused an argument. Minutes after that a bed was got for the person. It should not happen that way. No one should be fighting for the last days of their life in basic comfort (because UCHG does provide basic).

thesandeman

Only had to visit there 3 times in the last 20 years or so. Always treated brilliantly by the medical staff.
Only thing that pissed me off was when I went in with blood pouring out of my wrist (nothing sinister) the reception person asked me 'would you pay now?' If I wasn't in so much pain I would have pulled out a bunch of blood soggan notes and dumped them in her hand.
Think the Admin are definitely the problem up there as opposed to the medical staff.

bagels

No matter how good UCHG A&E is purported to be, the complaints greatly outnumber the compliments.

If the staff there were able to admit patients to the wards in a timely fashion, then perhaps waiting times might be halved.

If the triage nurse could send patients for x-ray without the patient having to be seen by a doctor first, then perhaps the system would be more efficient. I've never had to wait more than a few minutes for the radiologists to do their stuff so they're not contributing to delays. Wouldn't the system be more efficient if the doctor had an x-ray right from the beginning to assist with the diagnosis?

Would it not be better if the triage nurse took blood samples from all patients, and have them ready for analysis, before being seen by the doctor? The triage nurse doesn't seem to be as busy as the other staff so his/her time could be better utilised as suggested.

Drunkards, junkies and travellers far too often are jumped ahead in the queue, not out of medical necessity, but merely because they'll make a nuisance of themselves. So much for triage.

_Whimsical_

bagels wrote: »

No matter how good UCHG A&E is purported to be, the complaints greatly outnumber the compliments.

If the staff there were able to admit patients to the wards in a timely fashion, then perhaps waiting times might be halved.

If the triage nurse could send patients for x-ray without the patient having to be seen by a doctor first, then perhaps the system would be more efficient. I've never had to wait more than a few minutes for the radiologists to do their stuff so they're not contributing to delays. Wouldn't the system be more efficient if the doctor had an x-ray right from the beginning to assist with the diagnosis?

Would it not be better if the triage nurse took blood samples from all patients, and have them ready for analysis, before being seen by the doctor? The triage nurse doesn't seem to be as busy as the other staff so his/her time could be better utilised as suggested.

Drunkards, junkies and travellers far too often are jumped ahead in the queue, not out of medical necessity, but merely because they'll make a nuisance of themselves. So much for triage.

Good points Bagels. This kind of thinking is very much needed in A&E. With better management the system could run much more smoothly.

Rob A. Bank

I really don't know where to start with this ridiculous post...

bagels wrote: »

No matter how good UCHG A&E is purported to be, the complaints greatly outnumber the compliments..

How do you know ? Figures please...

If the staff there were able to admit patients to the wards in a timely fashion, then perhaps waiting times might be halved.

But the beds are all full and do not exist on the ward, that's why people end up on trollies.

If the triage nurse could send patients for x-ray without the patient having to be seen by a doctor first, then perhaps the system would be more efficient. I've never had to wait more than a few minutes for the radiologists to do their stuff so they're not contributing to delays. Wouldn't the system be more efficient if the doctor had an x-ray right from the beginning to assist with the diagnosis?

X-rays are very dangerous to humans and there has to be a risk/benefit analysis done for the potential information gained from the procedure... And that is a doctor's job. Your idea would cause a rise in cancer rates in Galway.

Would it not be better if the triage nurse took blood samples from all patients, and have them ready for analysis, before being seen by the doctor? The triage nurse doesn't seem to be as busy as the other staff so his/her time could be better utilised as suggested.

Not everyone going to A/E needs a blood test, and different types of blood tests need different types of anticoagulants in the tubes. The nurse is to take all possible blood tests from everyone attending A/E ??? Your idea would cause greatly increased costs and a rise in anaemia in Galway.

Drunkards, junkies and travellers far too often are jumped ahead in the queue, not out of medical necessity, but merely because they'll make a nuisance of themselves. So much for triage.

Can you produce any objective evidence to support this accusation ?

I thought not !

_Whimsical_

Rob A. Bank wrote: »

X-rays are very dangerous to humans and there has to be a risk/benefit analysis done for the potential information gained from the procedure... And that is a doctor's job. Your idea would cause a rise in cancer in Galway

Can you produce any objective evidence to support this accusation ?

I thought not !

Speaking of ridiculous posts...:rolleyes:

If you've ever been in A&E you'll see that pretty much everyone arriving with a sprain or soft tissue injury is xrayed to eliminate the possibility of a break. The only reason people arrive at a&e with a sprain/strain is in case its broken or to have it strapped.Nurses are perfectly capable of making a call whether someone needs an X-ray.No Dr is standing around over sore ankles weighing up the possibility of radiation exposure causing cancer in 20 years time.

Nurses are also perfectly capable of taking blood samples yet only a Dr takes blood samples in a&e in UCHG which eats a considerable amount of time that could be better spent seeing patients.I presume that's for insurance reasons but it would make more sense to assign a phlebotomist permanently to A&E rather than waste patient care time.

Its a terrible pity that people are so quick to think any criticism of the health service is an attack. Some of us,particularly those who are forced to uses the services on a regular basis, just want it to improve for ourselves and others.Until people talk about their experiences and call out the bad ones that won't happen.
There should be openess about these things. Instead every conversation ends in an uproar about how great nurses and drs are as if that's all that is in dispute. Sure lots of them are,the ones who aren't should be held to account.

Shakti

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

Its a terrible pity that people are so quick to think any criticism of the health service is an attack. Some of us,particularly those who are forced to uses the services on a regular basis, just want it to improve for ourselves and others.Until people talk about their experiences and call out the bad ones that won't happen.
There should be openess about these things. Instead every conversation ends in an uproar about how great nurses and drs are as if that's all that is in dispute. Sure lots of them are,the ones who aren't should be held to account.

I agree with all of that, I think the place needs to be quadrupled in size, lets face it, as it stands its one L shaped corridor with two treatment rooms one for adults the other for kids and a resuscitation room, a hospital serving counties of people numbering in the hundreds of thousands has an L shaped corridor to provide Emergency healthcare in? its madness.

hondasam

Shakti wrote: »

I agree with all of that, I think the place needs to be quadrupled in size, lets face it, as it stands its one L shaped corridor with two treatment rooms one for adults the other for kids and a resuscitation room, a hospital serving counties of people numbering in the hundreds of thousands has an L shaped corridor to provide Emergency healthcare in? its madness.

Making it bigger is not going to make it any more efficient. I always find it's people who have no real need to be there that complains (not you btw) and these people bring two or three people with them taking up room and chairs.
If they charged more for A&E more people would attend their doctor first before going to A&E,

Rob A. Bank

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

Its a terrible pity that people are so quick to think any criticism of the health service is an attack.

Bagels said and you thanked and defended his post as quoted below:

Drunkards, junkies and travellers far too often are jumped ahead in the queue, not out of medical necessity, but merely because they'll make a nuisance of themselves. So much for triage.

If that is not an attack on the professional competence of the triage nurses, what is ?

I asked for any objective evidence to support this accusation, and I am still waiting...

...

Shakti

Thanks hondasam, I hate complaining and to the point of injury I've put up with some pretty blatant maltreatment in A&E, I could also talk of the excellent treatment and care I received once eventually admitted to a ward in UCHG, or the inadequate prefabricated building that is neurology, but it just isn't getting any better in A&E its getting worse, yes it's G.P's and yes it's people being there that shouldn't be etc. but I don't see how we can do anything about those things in the short term, were as if the place was four times the size with four times the staff at least they would be prepared, look at the excellent 'medical assessment unit' and even though that at it stands doesn't have the heart monitors to go around it still gave G.P's another avenue of referral that otherwise would have been at the Glass Hatch in A&E.

fishy fishy

there's no point having a go at the nurses and doctors that are working in the a and E. Of course it's easy to take tempers out on them if you are upset, but hopefully you will make a very large poster and go to the correct people to protest - YOUR GOVERNMENT.

Some of these posts seem to insinuate that nurses/doctors should "hurry it up, and do whatever job they need to" so you can get out of the hospital quicker. Its the typical "What About Me" syndrome.

In reality you have no idea what is going on with ambulances pulling up, emergencies coming in - this is the way it is - you will have to get used to long lines and waiting your turn depending on your need.

If you have a problem with that, don't attack the nurses - go to your govt and attack them. Or maybe that takes too much effort and the nurses are an easy target.

As I said before, it's only when you are in a real crisis or have to deal with nurses every day that you realise exactly how hard they work and what they have to deal with.

shampoosuicide

lol at the armchair hospital management experts.

i'm sure the people that work in the hospital day-in day-out have never considered methods of making their jobs easier.

Mrs OBumble

shampoosuicide wrote: »

lol at the armchair hospital management experts.

+1

Yes, there are useless doctors and nurses .... just like there are useless bus drivers, shop-assistants, posties, courier drivers, lawyers, bankers, priests, politicians, convenience shop owners etc.

And yes, it's a pain (and possibly fatal) when your treatment is less than desirable because you're unlucky enough to get one of them. (And I'm not talking thru a hole: in another country, I've been with a friend who'd had a seizure - minimal monitoring and released from A&E 4 hours later, even though I knew she was getting worse, seized again in the car half way home. Thankfully she survived and has moved to a city where they have competent neurologists.)

I asked the OP if s/he was there with a GP referral - once the answer was "yes" I have total sympathy.

I'm also sure that the place could be run better - but doubt that randoms on the interwebz have the knowledge to say how.

Things that ordinary people can do, though, include:

paying all the tax that they're due to pay (no cash jobs, backhanders etc)
filling out their census forums: I lost count of the number of people who claimed that they weren't going to do it 'cos "the government already knows about me" or "I just don't want to" or similar: if they don't have accurate population stats, there's no way to plan for adequate services.
lobblying politicians for better funding.

_Whimsical_

Rob A. Bank wrote: »

YOU said :

If that is not an attack on the professional competence of the triage nurses, what is ?

I asked you for any objective evidence to support this accusation, and I am still waiting...

...

Firstly.I most certainly did not say what you have quoted. Please edit your post. For someone so intent on evidence based conversation you don't know much about citation.

Secondly ,what you did post and attribute to me was not an attack on medical professionals. That was merely a description of the reality of A&E in every city in Ireland. If you have very ill people requiring medical treatment you cannot have them disturbed or threatened by aggressive or drunken patients. They will often be seen first for everyone elses health and safety. Drunk or people on drugs should be seen in a seperate area in my opinion.
My mum was in A&E and very sick one night a few years ago when a very drunk and aggressive man arrived with a cut on his arm. He had to be seen because he caused problems out in the waiting room. I was told I had leave my mum and go home because the man had drunken friends with him and the nurses said they didnt think it would be safe for a girl on her own to be down there.One of the males nurses walked me out to the taxi which was nice but it wasn't nice for me or my mum that she was left alone on a trolley in an aggressive environment. That's the reality of what happens when there are violent drunk people there.

Also as for your tirade about objective evidence. That is kind of nonsense here. This is a public forum.Why should people not express their views based on their experience? We aren't writing public policy here. We are members of a community who use and pay for a service with some praise and some valid problems.You could wait several years for a survey to be done if you like but actually listening to other peoples experience with an open mind does give you a glimpse of the reality of lots of situations.

Shakti

edit

Wompa1

Well I didn't want to start a thread on it because nurses and people that know them tend to get very defensive if you make any sort of criticisms about healthcare in Ireland. There's a lot more great nurses than bad ones.

But anyway, all from my own experiences. I was in A&E one night about 6 years ago, there was about 40 people on trollies, the place was packed out the door. An Eastern European guy bled out in his seat and died in the waiting area while everyone else ran outside to throw up. He was left to sit until the point he lost enough blood to die, you could see the blood dripping onto the floor under his chair.

My Father went in with internal bleeding. Waited on a gurney for about 12 hours and then it stopped so he just walked out and went home...It wasn't heavy bleeding but still any blood coming from inside you should be a serious concern I'd think! Apparently not serious enough.

When I was in my early teens my brother went into Galvia to get his tonsils out. He became very sick and threw up blood for days. Fast forward a month a girl that worked with me went in and had the same surgeon with the same result. Fast forward another few weeks another friend went into the same guy with the same result. I had thought removing someones tonsils was the most basic of operations but there ya go.

I was sent by my GP to get blood tests done for suspected hemochromatosis. Was sent to the UCHG to get my bloods check, had taken the day off work to make the appointment. It took 4 hours...with an appointment. The nurse neglected to get my blood checked for iron...the whole reason I was in there. So it had to be re-done.

Galway Clinic doesn't get off. I was sent to a specialist for arthritus in there after getting X-Rays done in UCHG and it being stated that I had arthritus. I went to the specialist and UCHG or my GP or both neglected to forward my X-rays to the specialist even though I requested it twice. Second time making sure and saying if needs be I could pick up a copy from my GP to bring in...Anyway show up to the specialist, he didn't have an X-Ray. Told me not to worry that the X-Ray machine in the hospital isn't very good, it has a high intense beam that makes bone look thinner than it actually is so the staff in the hospital were wrong. I think you have tennis elbow so I'll inject you in both elbows, charge you 200 euros and send you on your way. I tried to drive home because I wasn't told it would be a problem since shots weren't on the agenda originally it was just meant to be advice. While driving my hands stiffened out, I couldn't grip the wheel. I managed to get home anyway and spent the rest of the day in agony. Nearly 8 months later the shots haven't helped and I've given up trying to get good treatment in Galway. On the plus side the arthritus specialist said I didn't have arthritus so I'm taking that as a non-diagnosis, for the hemochromatosis the consultant gave me a half answer saying I carried the gene but couldn't say I had it and then walked out of the room and left me with a junior doctor who couldn't answer my questions. I was told I had another appointment in Feb and to come back then and ask the questions. The consultant was literally in the room for 30 seconds, he also signed when he was speaking to me....but I take that also as a non-diagnosis so from an insurance standpoint I'm in the clear to get good treatment in a different country with a better medical system.

fishy fishy

have any of you joined in a protest at the hospital to highlight where they are lacking? (

Rob A. Bank

Perhaps Health Minister Dr James Reilly should have a look at Galway A/E too.

Shakti

Rob A. Bank wrote: »

Perhaps Health Minister Dr James Reilly should have a look at Galway A/E too.

Conneely asked him to over a year ago now.

A year on the Reilly "solution" is to fine UCHG €25,000 a month for not meeting targets, Contributing to €1,200,000 in hospital fines suspended until september on the understanding that they meet the targets set for then.

2rkehij30qtza5

Shakti wrote: »

Friend spent 14 hours in A&E last night

A few months back,I spent 2 nights in the MAU area of A&E while seriously ill AND pregnant before being admitted! It was a nightmare- I only had a plastic seat to sit on for the first 6 hours and I could barely sit and then got a trolley, which is not comfortable, especially when trying to manoeuvre with a baby bump.

Shakti

Jad Inexpensive Numerology wrote: »

A few months back,I spent 2 nights in the MAU area of A&E while seriously ill AND pregnant before being admitted! It was a nightmare- I only had a plastic seat to sit on for the first 6 hours and I could barely sit and then got a trolley, which is not comfortable, especially when trying to manoeuvre with a baby bump.

thats awful and all to common,
The MAU becoming 24/7 instead of the intended 12/7 was the 'Special delivery unit's' answer to the A&E crisis in UCHG. In essence making it an extension of A&E albeit not a physical extension to the A&E dept. in all but name. IMO you would need at least four such units to provide adequate care and a healthy environment for patients and staff.

Also..
There is only ONE public MRI machine for the entire west of Ireland even though a recent study found that we have the highest rate of pancreatic cancer in the country.

Sniipe

Shakti wrote: »

There is only ONE public MRI machine for the entire west of Ireland even though a recent study found that we have the highest rate of pancreatic cancer in the country.

Is there no MRI in the galway clinic or the bons? Or Sligo?

https://www.vhi.ie/pdf/products/MriDirectory_CorePlans.pdf

Don't post something if its wrong.

Shakti

Sniipe wrote: »

Is there no MRI in the clinic or the bons? Or Sligo?

They are private,

The fact that there is only one public MRI in the entire HSE West is among several reasons for delays in processing diagnostic referrals in the region.

http://www.imt.ie/news/uncategorized/2012/05/ten-reasons-to-blame-for-mri-delays.html