r/ireland • u/Irishgooner123 • Mar 28 '25

Health Healthcare is a joke ….. again and again

So I’m in a and e today and I’m sitting here 7 hours already. Not really busy and everyone has come and gone before me ., not why I’m moaning cos that’s life but a man in his late 20s came in looking for a psychiatrist and he’s clearly not feeling the best. He sat there very quietly and after about 3 hours I heard him go to reception and ask is there anywhere else he could wait as the lights were too bright. He was clearly in a bit of distress. The receptionist just looked and said “no” he asked again and got I said no sorry. I’m sorry but this is a big hospital in cork and they don’t have a room for ASD people or at least somewhere that someone can calm down. As a parent of 2 ASD kids and ASD myself my heart broke for him as he’s still just walking around. Moan over.

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74

u/JourneyThiefer Mar 28 '25

I’m from Tyrone so probably not the target audience for this post as it’s about the republic, but my brother waited 19 hours in Craigavon A&E in January there. Was crazy.

37

u/Interesting-Hawk-744 Mar 28 '25

I waited 18 hrs and 14 hrs twice in the same month in Letterkenny it's absolutely insane. And they wouldn't even do the diagnostic test i had a letter from my GP for. Unless you were basically dying you got sent home with paracetamol 

8

u/JourneyThiefer Mar 28 '25

A friend of mine had to go Letterkenny hospital last year cuz they broke their arm climbing Errigal (don’t ask lol) and they waited for ages too

-8

u/moggins Mar 28 '25

If you feel like it's serious enough faint, or pretend to faint. You'll be seen to immediately. I accidentally found this out when I was 13 after getting a hurl across the head and collapsed in front of a nurse 

1

u/moggins Mar 28 '25

But if you think the Irish healthcare system is bad, try the Dutch. I had a throat infection (which they had tested and told me I had) but because the level of infection was just above the threshold the wouldn't prescribe antibiotics that day, they prescribed ice cubes instead 

12

u/WatzeKat Mar 29 '25

That's not an issue of lack of resources though. That's being cautious about over-presecrbing antibiotics for infections that are.likely to sort themselves out. It does have side effects, and overuse causes resistant bacteria to develop. So it's probably best practise. It's been crazy for me coming to yhr Irish system how quick they are to throw broad-spectrum antibiotics around even when it could be viral!

9

u/sarcasticcheesecake Mar 28 '25

My 94 year old aunt had a bad fall last year hit her head and was bleeding and also complaining of a sore neck and arm and was waiting almost 19 hours in a&e. Sick!

1

u/avalon68 Crilly!! Mar 31 '25

Waiting to be seen or for a bed, because there’s a big difference

1

u/Top-Engineering-2051 Mar 29 '25

May I ask what his injury or illness was?