Mum waiting 8 months for tumour scan result
STILL WAITING AFTER BEING TURNED AWAY FROM BEAUMONT HOSPITAL LAST WEEK
A 55 year old mother and grandmother living with a benign brain tumour is still waiting to find out the results of a brain scan taken last October.
Marian Parkes ( Kelly) had her brain tumour scanned at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin on October 25th last.
Almost nine months later she is still waiting for the HSE to give her the results of the scan.
She fears her tumour may have grown in the interim or that the stress of not knowing could cause a bleed on her brain.
After making repeated requests to the hospital for the results of the scan, both directly and indirectly through her GP, Marian was finally given an appointment to get them at Beaumont Hospital last Tuesday, 6th June.
“A friend took the day off work to come with me in case I got bad news,” Marian told The Sligo Champion.
“I spent three hours on a train and another 45 minutes on a bus to get there, only to be told the doctor was off sick and to come back again another day,” she said.
“Is that acceptable? I’ve worked with people all my life and I’d never treat people like that,” she said.
“I had the brain scan last October. I’m no wiser than before. They never contacted me or my doctor to say they had cancelled the appointment,” she said.
The qualified carer worked in nursing homes for over 18 years until her brain tumour diagnosis in 2015 forced her to give up work. Doctors gave her three options: a 12 hour operation, radiotherapy or live a less stressful life with regular scans and check- ups.
“I chose option three - I’m a grandmother. I want to spend time with my grandchildren. They told me not to get stressed out because I could get a bleed to the brain.
“Why wasn’t another doctor on standby? It’s disgraceful,” she said.
A spokesperson for the HSE said they “cannot comment on individual cases.”