Shame of the HSE
Sick gran, 92, spends 25 hours on chair in crowded A&E
THE plight of a sick 92-year-old woman left on a chair in a busy A&E for more than a day has been slammed as a national scandal.
Gladys Cummins was taken to Dublin’s Mater Hospital with a kidney infection but was left in a distressed state for 25 hours.
Daughter Dee described her frail mother’s ordeal as a “disgrace” while Labour’s health spokesman Alan Kelly hit out at the shameful conditions.
He said: “It’s absolutely scandalous. The stories I am hearing across the country must be the greatest example of the crisis we now find ourselves in.”
A SICK and distressed 92-year-old woman spent 25 agonising hours on a chair waiting to be seen by a doctor, it was revealed yesterday.
Gladys Cummins was admitted to the A&E at Dublin’s Mater Hospital on Monday afternoon with a kidney infection that had begun to cause psychosis.
She was brought to the unit on the recommendation of nursing home staff and, due to manic episodes, family members had to stay with her at all times.
Yesterday, daughter Dee Cummins Morris said it was a disgrace an elderly woman would be left in those conditions, adding: “I’m starting to lose my faith in politics.”
She told RTE’S Liveline: “She’s 92. She has been suffering with a kidney infection that has slowly got worse. The problem was she started to show signs of psychosis and they were afraid that she maybe had sepsis.
“My other sister went in the ambulance and they arrived at 2.15pm on Monday afternoon.
“She was actually in the A&E department for over 24 hours, probably about 25.
“She was [in the chair] the whole time. She swapped from a wheelchair because she’s not mobile and had to be assisted everywhere.
DIGNITY
“The reason we had blankets all around her was she was in the corner of the ward and there was a draft because of the automatic doors into the A&E where the paramedics come in.
“She would have been having manic episodes, it was hard to calm her. There were a lot of elderly people there and they weren’t being afforded much dignity.”
Labour’s health spokesman Alan Kelly condemned Mrs Cummins’ ordeal.
He said: “It’s absolutely scandalous. The stories I am hearing across the country must be the greatest example of the crisis we now find ourselves in when it comes to our hospitals.”
Claiming nobody is taking responsibility for the horrendous conditions, Dee said: “How long have we been having this conversation?
“We hear all the excuses over and over again. Our Government is not up to the job.
“More is going into administration than people on the ground. The new A&E we were in is not big enough for the people who are in there. People are still sitting on chairs in there.”
Gladys is now on the geriatric ward and waiting on results. After hearing her story on Liveline, people took to social media.
One Twitter user said: “This is normal. I have seen this so many times in the Mater A&E.”
Another wrote: “Health and housing have left Irish people with no dignity.”
She was having manic episodes.. it was hard to calm her DEE CUMMINS MORRIS DUBLIN YESTERDAY