HSE needs revived by more funds

THE ordeal suffered by Gladys Cummins is the perfect example of the failure of the HSE to protect our most vulnerable.

The country is facing a winter of discontent in our A&ES and the 92-year-old’s story is a harbinger of that looming disaster.

It emerged yesterday the HSE has no plan to confront the problem after Gladys was left in a hospital chair suffering a kidney infection for 25 agonising hours. Her daughter Dee said the wait for help made her worse.

This country essentially operates a medical regime that is dangerous to patients – it leaves our most vulnerable in a situation where going to hospital could exacerbate their conditions.

The Fine Gael-led Government is more obsessed with meeting strict budget lines than giving the money required for our critical services to operate.

Yes the economy crashed and yes there was a requirement to save Ireland from the abyss.

But if the platitudes of Mr Varadkar are to be believed the country has been saved, so then why not increase funding to these hospitals.

Clearly, there is also a massive problem with management of the problem.

Bosses are surely in need of a wake-up call and a realisation they cannot hide away from their responsibilities.

Other countries are world leaders in health care but the people of Ireland also deserve to have the best critical services.