I spent 15 hours in a chair in A&E with a cannula in my arm
As hospital crisis rages on, one patient tells of his ‘horrific experience’
A MAN has claimed he was left sitting a chair with a needle in his arm in an overcrowded hospital Emergency Department for over 15 hours.
Aidan Clohessy, 34, has spoken of the ‘horrific experience’ and added he is ‘extremely angry’ at the HSE and the Health Minister Simon Harris.
Mr Clohessy, from Dunderry, Co. Meath, said he was sent to the A&E of Our Lady’s Hospital in Navan by his GP last Tuesday after he told them he had been suffering from headaches, a numbness in his arms and nausea for the previous six days.
He said on arrival he witnessed a scene of ‘complete mayhem’, remarking: ‘I arrived around 2pm and there wasn’t a seat to be had, the place was absolutely jammed, so I had to stand. And I wasn’t the only one, there were as many people standing as sitting.
‘I started to time how long I was waiting and it was four hours later, just after 6pm, when I was called in to see the triage nurse.
‘The lady was very professional, she took my bloods and sent me back out into the waiting room, but she left what is called a cannula in my arm – that’s the name
‘It scared the life out of me’
for the needle that is attached to the intravenous drip, and is left there so they can quickly administer pain relief through it.
Mr Clohessy claimed he counted seven other people with similar needles in their arms. He added: ‘There were clearly distressed people after being brought in from ambulances being left sitting in chairs because there was nowhere else for them to go.’
He said that he was initially seen by a junior doctor at ‘around 6.30pm’ and then at 10.45pm he was called back in and this time a senior doctor told him he was worried he may have had a stroke.
‘You can imagine the effect that had on me. It scared the life out of me,’ Mr Clohessy said, adding the doctors themselves were ‘superb’.
‘I was then given a chair in the assessment area and that was it until 9am the next day, I sat there with the cannula in my arm overnight and for 15 hours in total. Sleep was impossible.
‘From what I observed there were only three nurses and a nurse manager working for the time I was in there, and clearly that’s not enough to cope with the demand.
‘They were brilliant to me, they gave me tea and regularly checked my pulse and blood pressure, but there was nothing more they could do I had to suffer in silence.’ Mr Clohessy said that at 9am he was seen by a consultant, and over an hour later he was sent for a CT scan.
He continued: ‘I was beginning to think the worst. Eventually at 1.30pm, nearly a full day after I first arrived in, the consultant told me the scan was clear and I could go home, but they would send me an appointment to be seen at the Lourdes hospital in Drogheda.
‘That arrived on Friday I have to go up there on Valentine’s Day which is reasonably quick.’
The whole experience has, Mr Clohessy said, left him very, very angry. He remarked: ‘Up until I went through it myself I would never have believed half the horror stories I read about the health service, but I would believe them all now.
‘What I endured was nothing less than a horrific experience, but I wouldn’t apportion no blame to the staff, I couldn’t speak highly enough of them.
‘But, yes, I am angry, extremely angry with the HSE and the Health Minister. They come out with platitudes about how they will repair the health service. They come out with grand plans, and great ideas, but what they won’t do is put sufficient money in for it to be staffed properly.’
‘Thanks to a string of inept and uncaring government ministers and HSE officials I had to go through a full day in A&E before I was finally properly diagnosed.’
‘For 15 hours of that time I was left sitting with a needle in my arm, I defy Simon Harris or his boss Leo Varadkar, or whoever the top man is in the HSE, to try and justify that.’
A hospital spokeswoman said of the matter: ‘Our Lady’s Hospital, Navan cannot comment on individual patient cases. However, in all instances, the highest standard of patient care and safety is the hospital’s most important concern. Management at the hospital can assure that the sickest patients and those requiring urgent treatment and care are prioritised and seen first.
‘The hospital has been extremely busy with emergency presentations and admissions following the Christmas and New Year’s period and management and staff are striving to ensure that all patients are seen as quickly as possible.
‘This increase in ED activity is anticipated to continue for the next number of weeks.’