Sinn Féin TD for Wicklow, John Brady, has raised the case of a constituent who endured unacceptable conditions in A&E at St. Vincent’s University Hospital with the Taoiseach in Dáil Éireann today.
Deputy Brady said the experience highlights the deepening crisis across A&Es, with patients left without dignity and staff under extreme pressure.
He also criticised the Taoiseach’s response as dismissive and said it failed to reflect the reality facing patients and healthcare workers on the ground.
Teachta Brady said:
“Last Friday, a constituent of mine presented to St. Vincent’s University Hospital after suffering a suspected mini-stroke.
“After being assessed, he was told that nothing further would happen over the weekend and was instructed to return on Monday.
“When he returned, he waited hour after hour as morning turned to night in an A&E department that was bursting at the seams.
“Eventually, when he was admitted, the shocking reality became clear.
“There were no beds available, not even a trolley and instead, he was placed on a chair in a shower room alongside four other men and a woman, all patients, all left sitting because there was simply nowhere else to put them.
“They were left there for several more hours.
“This is not care, this is not dignity – it is totally unacceptable.
“This is a man who had suffered a mini-stroke and had been told he needed to remain in hospital for two to three nights for observation, yet he was left sitting overnight in a chair in a shower area.
“He and his family are outraged, and rightly so.
“Patients are being failed, and healthcare workers are being pushed beyond their limits trying to cope with chronic overcrowding and a lack of capacity.
“I raised this directly with the Taoiseach today, but the response I received was dismissive and wholly inadequate.
“There was no acknowledgment of the severity of what patients are enduring on the ground.
“This is not an isolated incident.
“It is happening in hospitals right across the state every single day.
“The government cannot continue to ignore this.
“We need urgent intervention. Increased bed capacity, safe staffing levels, and real investment in our health service.
“People should not have to fear going to hospital, yet for too many that is now the reality.
“What is happening in our A&Es is simply not acceptable, and it must be addressed as a matter of urgency.”
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