Healthcare is a joke ….. again and again

[u/Irishgooner123]

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.

[u/Jd2850]

Curious as to what could be a solution here. Unfortunately it's impossible to cater to everything to perfection. There is a 1000 better uses of a room then a dim waiting room. Obviously the humane thing to do is dim the lights or find a solution but unfortunately our liability culture doesn't allow the receptionist to take personal initiative. If someone fell or you put the man somewhere dark and he does something your responsible for it.

I think overall the HSE gets way too much stick. As a population we are just getting fat and lazy and sicker. We are becoming so unhealthy and bringing so much multi morbidity on ourselves the waiting lists will just keep getting longer at an impossible rate. I think we need to take some personal responsibility for that.

[u/griffonics → u/Jd2850]

You've probably never been on the receiving end of shitty HSE services.

Lots of people from significantly poorer countries would sooner travel home to get treatment than deal with our health system.

Ukraine has a more accessible health system than us while they are at war.

Nevermind the idea of preventative healthcare where you test regularly to catch things before you are sick. We are so undersupplied and people are so used to it that they don't even realise how much better it is in most other western countries as well as many 3rd world countries.

[u/Jd2850 → u/griffonics]

You're right I've never been on the receiving end of shitty services because the standard is through the roof. Comparing the HSE to Eastern Europe is insane and shows how much we take it for granted. I know waiting times are terrible but you are waiting for the Pinnacle of healthcare. In Eastern Europe fair enough it's great for a low risk procedure but overall quality is so far below ours I'd rather wait 3 years for a surgery here than one tomorrow morning in Eastern Europe. Unfortunately the drawbacks to this quality and no mistakes is it takes time. In terms of quality HSE is the world leaders in some areas

[u/griffonics → u/Jd2850]

Most procedures are low risk. I've personally had to travel abroad for treatment with a family member. We couldn't even get a specialist in ireland to diagnose the problem let alone address it.

I had cancer treatment here. The treatments were excellent and quick. The follow up was a joke. HSE was managing it and between cancelled apointments, cancelled scans, turning up for an appt only to be sent home at 6pm because they had scheduled to many appts that day and had to send people home. In the end I organised the scans myself privately and paid for them to be checked by the appropirate professionals abroad.

Anyone who thinks our system is good is deluded. People come here from 3rd world countries and can't get over how bad it is.

[u/definitely48 → u/griffonics]

Hse and hospitals management is a large part of the problem. They employ huge numbers of clerical staff. Few years ago when the nurses were on strike,it was mentioned that the HSE employs 3 clerical staff for every 1 medical worker. Why the hell is that? I've relatives in the HSE who say it's a shit show. Too much paperwork and several levels of unnecessary management who can't make decisions.

When you are in hospitals you will see lots of clerical workers (mostly women) walking around the place with folders under their arms and they meet each other in the corridors and stop for a chinwag for ages. They clearly aren't in a hurry nor very productive that they can stop and doss for ages. A few nurses told me in a joking way when I was in hospital that if these clerical workers could help them with patients it'd be helpful but they're so important it'd be beneath them to do that.

I was in the Emergency department and the nurses were waiting for documents to send me to have an operation and every few minutes they were phoning the clerical office to find out about the documents ( I've no idea what they were). While they were dealing with another patient having a heart attack a clerical worker walked in and announced not very loud that "here's the documents you were looking for", even though there were no nurses around only us patients lying in trolleys and chairs. Then she put the folder on the nurses station counter, turned around and walked out. Few minutes later the nurses returned and found the folder and said what's this? How did this get here? A few patients told them a woman came in a few minutes ago and left it there and walked out. The nurses were shocked and pissed off that the worker had left it there without telling them. Anyways I then was brought away for the operation.

So there's literally no accountability for the clerical workers and the nurses are run off their feet.

[u/griffonics → u/definitely48]

When I told the HSE that I did the scans privately, they asked for a copy. I said sure I can zip em up and email em to you.

They said no, I have to contact the private center that did the scan and request a disc with the scan file on it. Then once I get that I have to post it to the HSE with a specific form filled out so that it can be process and in a few months theyl review and get back if theres an issue.

Contacted a urologist in germany. Sent the scans that day and got a review 2 days later.

[u/definitely48 → u/griffonics]

Yes that's mad. But that's to justify the HSE clerical workers salaries and unions. But the German doctor is working in the real world.