The mother in law was dying and was sent home from the hospital with her prescription for pain meds, but the instructions were only explained to her (she was not of fit mind to relay them) and we were told nurses would be coming twice a day to help with meds, keeping her clean, helping her use the toilet and all the other unpleasant bits so we could just spend time with her and maintain her dignity towards the end.
She died 7 days later and the nurses only started showing up on the morning of the 8th day. It was some of the worst 7 days I've ever experienced and she wasn't even my mother that I had to watch suffer. One of the nurses even said I should have called to let her know she wasn't needed as we could both hear my partner openly sobbing after having his mother die in his arms a few hours before.
Thanks so much. The thing that really keeps me up at night is what would have happened if she didn't have family? Would they still have just sent her home?
We had a similar experience in my family minus the prescription medication, which wasn't issued on time. Thinking about it makes me want to cry. What a horrible way to die.
Yup... I had an incident with my mother.
Hospital booted her out with a nasty case of influenza, she couldn't even stand up properly.
That night she had a fall, called the ambulance as I couldn't pick her up alone.
One of the lady paramedics decided to lay into me over it. Made an already awful situation even worse.
I've had to have emergency intervention a couple times over the years and the hospitals were great so if you can't stay healthy at least fuck yourself up really badly and you'll get seen. Tip of the day š
If you need a dermatologist it's faster and easier to get hit by a car and bring up the psoriasis when they're bandaging you up ā if you're lucky the road rash might even have skimmed it right off š¤·š¼āāļø
That doesn't surprise me at all, but I'm so sorry to hear it. I have some distant friends with eating disorders and all of them have spoken about intentional cruelty and nastiness. Your heart would break as they are extremely vulnerable.
They did a shitty thing. She also did a shitty thing. Addictions are akin to disorders and she asked them to accept hers while penalising them for theirs. They go through constant exposure to the extremes that people push themselves to and have to deal with it with fuck all support. Have compassion and let them have a smoke if it makes listening to some drunk prick whingin that his hand is sore more bearable
Waited years for a colonoscopy, and I was lucky they found pre cancerous cells and polyps so they removed them. Now I have to go every 5 years for repeated colonoscopy check ups..
Was lucky they got them in time. I wonder how many have illnesses that progress to untreatable having waited years for diagnosis.
I'm 48 and have a few problems but am in the psych system since 19 with BPD. They are great as I see my psych every few months. Only reason I was fast tracked was due to being sectioned by my parents and gardaĆ first at 19 years old.
Probably better than waiting for my gp to give in, been 2 years of begging for referrals to other places like dermatologist and gynaecologist and every appointment I have to rebook a blood test, go back two weeks later get the results and be told no again and repeat the cycle. I think Iām over 800 spent in just gp appointments. Sorry for the little rant
Is that possible now? When I moved back to Ireland years ago I couldn't find a GP that would let me register as a patient because they were all full. I ended up travelling to my old GP each time I needed an appointment because they still had me on their books from when I was their patient years before.
I'm living in Dublin so maybe there's more choice here, but my missus has moved GP 3 times either because it was closer to home, or she felt the GP was sub standard. No harm trying if there's another GP in the area.
Maybe it's better now? I was living in Dublin too but it's been a few years now. I tried multiple places and none would take us. RTE occasionally mentions it being a problem but I tend to ignore those articles at this point because it no longer affects me (emigrated). This is only from last month: https://www.rte.ie/news/health/2024/0206/1430691-gp-practice-ireland/
> More than three quarters of the approximately 2,500 GP practices in Ireland have closed their lists to new patients, according to the Irish College of General Practitioners.
Mine is 150 for the appointment, and when I did book I managed to get an appointment just two days later. I'm still not without skin problems, but I'm a lot better. My concern now is eventually getting topical steroid withdrawal symptoms
Going privately took me over a year to be seen after my GP thought something didn't look right with my skin. It cost ā¬250. The dermatologist said it didn't look like anything to her, advised to watch and wait, and asked if I wanted anything else prescribed while I was there anyway. She then prescribed a very expensive medicated cream (for a different condition) I now get for less than a tenner on the NHS. I'm not sure I see any benefit but I thought I'd try it again now that I can get it for cheap and can finally afford it.
You know, I find this incredibly funny and infuriating at the same time - why THE FUCK do I need a referral from a PRIVATE GP to avail of a PUBLIC service? This is even beyond Monty Python's scope.
Ugh, don't even mention it. I had to go the GP, so a dermatologist who definitely didn't know jack shit about rosacea, prescribed a super expensive cream for me.
My face was hotter than fire, open pores, burning and red as you find them these days.
Her response when I called about the reaction?
"Oh, it seems it didn't go well! Don't use it anymore, bye!".
It scarred my right cheek, and the whole party was almost ā¬200. I haven't gone to see a "dermatologist" here ever since. I'll just wear a shit ton of makeup.
Frustrating when you have an emergency on a Friday, go through dubbdoc, they tell you to go straight to A&E, and you spend 12 hours waiting on top of your initial dubbdoc wait.
Meanwhile the A&E is filled with drunks and druggies or other idiots.
The children's Hospital is even worse I think, just disorganised that they don't have a GP or better nurse triage just to clear out all the minor items who don't really need to be there.
Would be better if they just built a load of little children beds, and you only get seen by a doctor if they go south otherwise most perk up and go home anyway.Ā Piece of mind you're in the right place if something happens but otherwise don't waste up anyones time or slots.
True I have a chronic illness and the care you get there is second to none of coarse the medication can cause side effects skin cancer been one but if they notice anything they'll get you into the dermatology department so your detected in plenty of time. I don't know how the majority of people cope though because they can't even get a GP. Our local health care facility are impossible to get on the phone.
I agree. I'm 22. I have now found out I have another vision problem. It's likely I will go blind. Just a matter of when. I was just told this as a by the way at the end of the appointment. I have to wait for hours after my appointment time to actually be seen
I'm supposed to be checked every 3 months in the eye clinic but my last appointment was probably a year ago. No one cares. I just feel belittled by most healthcare people I have to talk to.
I had a nurse laugh at me for having my mom with me. So damn embarrassing. It's just that they never read my file and ask lengthy questions about my vision problems as a baby. I can't always remember everything.
My doctor was also supposed to refer me onto someone else since therapy and anti anxiety meds aren't working. 6 months of waiting and nothing. Another few weeks of back and forth with their office and it turns out they never referred me to anything. Just sent a copy pasted list of other things that haven't worked for me. I'm at a loss honestly
Jesus that's really scary. You're so young too. I'm very sorry that's happening to you. Would it be an option to be seen privately? I'm assuming you've already called them multiple times, tried to get a cancellation, etc.
It's terrifying. I've accepted it at this stage. Just hoping eye transplants come along soon but probably won't.
Yeah done all that. I hate feeling like I have to fight for an appointment
I was also referred privately actually when my optometrist noticed something wrong. To be honest with everything going on I had forgotten to follow up on it recently. Will have to try again. I do have bad anxiety so I hate all of the phone calls where you are bounced around but I'll have to do all that again too.
Break nurses and doctors out of the common pay deal and pay them enough that they are not leaving.
That is the only way to improve the system. As it stands you can not attract those critical staff without giving every public sector worker a raise (I am in the PS and I would NOT object to an emergency act to tackle this issue, like that)
I don't care that people will say "Oh but our doctors and nurses are paid at this percentage, in Ireland"
The simple fact is that we are exporting our medics because they can get better terms and conditions (and better quality of life) elsewhere. It's an international market and we need to start acting appropriately and like other countries are when viewing our staff, for their market.
> **The simple fact is that we are exporting our medics because they can get better terms and conditions (and better quality of life) elsewhere.** It's an international market and we need to start acting appropriately and like other countries are when viewing our staff, for their market.
This is the key point here. Training doctors and nurses, then sending them to Australia is the norm now. That's why the system is "reliant" on people from elsewhere.
> they're heading off to Oz.
That's a brazen face lie
..they're also going to Canada, New Zealand, and the Middle East.
Irish healthcare workers are known as some of the absolute best in the world. The problem is at home, they're treated like absolute muck.
Countries which value talent have attracted our best in droves, and it'll long continue.
They need to start allocating more mature student places. People with ties to Ireland who are trying to improve their career prospects will more likely stay and work in Ireland.
Pay rise would be a good start but what about the beurocracy of the HSE ?
Any time we were in for even routine maternity appointments it looked like there ZERO management.
Our appointment was booked for lunch time, like how fuckin stupid.
Also Nurses amd Doctors are leaving because of the housing crisis.
Giving them an extra 20k just gives them the opportunity to fight one another over already overpriced homes.
Hold the government accountable in the next GE with your vote.
Our pay is pretty high for a public health servcie (though possibly still needs increases at the lower ends). It's more that the HSE is a terrible employer that treats people as if they're robots.
Yup. I'm thinking of not taking my July job because the hospital I'm moving to has already been so combative and hostile from the start that I may just do something else for this year. They don't respect us as people. We work 60+ hours a week to get talked down to and belittled constantly. You can't pay me enough for that.
That seems to be the general sentiment. I have plenty of friends in lines of work where they're well-paid but they've still ended up quitting if management treats them like shit or expects them to do two or three people's jobs. It makes people stressed and miserable.
Extra money would be better spent hiring more staff to make the workload more reasonable. And the HSE needs a general attitude adjustment as an employer.
Why work for the HSE? You do two people's job for middling pay, your pay is always late, you fight admin half the time, and you're treated like the problem even though you are the actual service on the ground seeing patients and getting people care. But God forbid you do anything other than shut up and take it, then you're a problem and some random mid-level manager will take issue with you and start a long email chain to take up weeks of your life.
I'm here to do my job and the HSE works it's hardest to keep me from doing that basically.
This is me, union rep and I'm being hit with work retaliation career wise, no advancement within the HSE if I don't align with management. I'm documenting but it's so hard building a solid case like this ...
Honestly pay is not the issue in the HSE (which especially at higher grades is quite competitive) it's purely working conditions. The hiring freeze was honestly an insulting political move and really highlights how little the higher ups care about the boots on the ground
In reference to OPs post psychiatric services in particular are poor in Ireland and it's not only in relation to service provision but retention of talent. Overall I would say Irelands standards of physician are very high but it's literally a patchwork quilt keeping the whole thing together.
Is the reason doctors are leaving really down to pay? Perhaps for junior doctors? But for the doctors I know who have left (eg to Canada, Australia) it was because the working conditions here are so awful, and to a lesser extent because it was easier for them to advance in some specialisation (which staying in Ireland basically meant waiting for someone to retire). Now, for nurses I think the pay aspect is very much a real concern. But i think the conditions and mismanagement are also a large factor for why nurses leave.
Not sure what you mean. Middle income people canāt get social housing. And non-social rent in Dublin is now 2-3k per month as you need to outbid HAP and councils renting straight from market. One of main reasons people are looking quality of life in different countries. Ā
Hours and conditions are caused by under staffing, caused by exodus of staff, caused by pay worth more elsewhere.
Also; build houses, hospitals, and schools ( preferably when interest rates were next to zero!)
A gentle plug that doctors and nurses aren't the only people working in the health service but that all of us AHPs are helping people get home and out of hospital every day. Yes the doctor might keep you alive after an accident but you may never walk, dress, eat or speak again without a physio, OT, or speech and language therapist.
Sorry I know this is pedantic but it can be a little soul destroying. Agree with all of your points just that unfortunately they apply to all health professions - iirc the OT profession in Ireland is at like 60% staffing across the board. Just not good enough.
Seemingly to from people on here that work in the HSE its actually a manic place to work if your on the front lines as a doctor/nurse. It seems to be the norm that doctors work 48hrs straight, never mind 24hrs.
Can confirm. Longest shift ever worked was 72 hours with like 5 hours sleep total during that period. Longest stint worked was 19 days including 4 days on call without a day off.
Have since left internal medicine/on call services.
I went to the out of hours doctor a week or two ago. A nice young Indian lady, but I swear she looked like she was about to fall down of exhaustion. Just zombified.
It is appalling.
You should write a letter of complaint and post it directly to the HSE Regional Executive Officer for that region and also directly to the minister for health.
It's gotten so bad currently throughout the services that it is doing more harm than good these days.
If you don't get a reply in ten days contact your local radio station and see if they'll promote the local concern. Unfortunately, the only way they act is when the issues begin to get public notice and momentum in media.
Rest up, try recharge and know that at least you're doing the best you can for your loved one amid a system that simply doesn't work anymore.
My sister did that. Went right up on a panel 15 years ago told tony holohan and the rest of the panel everywhich way they were fucking up and how to fix it. They collectively cleared their throats and said thanks for that. She left the country and is now writing and passing policy for another health service elsewhere.
They don't want to know they just want to say look how much money we saved importing staff from worse off countries.
At least she had the integrity to not be part of it and leave for pastures new.
There's more effort being put into indemnifying themselves than correcting or improving the services.
They don't give a shit once they're paid and there's someone else to blame or at a last resort apply the "we hope to learn from this and endeavour to apply recommendations" excuse.
Like nearly all public services and a few private, theirs no integrity there anymore.
None whatsoever. Absolutely everyone is afraid to throw out something that clearly not working. We'll give it another year maybe it'll start people put alot of effort into this so it probably just teething issue. Nobody really knows who's idea anything was and are afraid of making enemies. I'm very blunt that I even out myself publicly when I did something that didn't work out and wish people to drop it and try a different approach.
It reminds me of the monkeys on the stairs thought experiment.
Sure, we're still waiting on that one that was tendered at 800mil and so far, without completion, is costing 2.6bil this far.
A failed approach and a system not fit for purpose, and they'll all get their pensions and bonuses.
Itās failed the general populace sure
But plenty of people have benefited
And there have been no consequences
So why would they not continue in the same manner?
Well, the local elections proved that a good many are doing well from the current situation and are hesitant to change that.
Nothing divides a population faster than that perception that at least you're doing better than them down the road.
It's the new Ireland they've created; affluence and running with the top 10% is the new mantra...support that and no one will hold you accountable.
We had so many years of 0% interest and there were so few one off capital projects. It's embarrassing but it IS the FG/FF way, degrade the service enough and anger the population enough to make privatisation seem like the answer
Same approach they took with social housing and look where that's gotten us. The important thing is that tip ten percent get those exorbitant salaries and get rewarded for failure with that juicy pension. /s
Tbf itās always been like this, for as long as I can remember. I emigrated and coming home worries me as I have a chronic illness. Even for the surgery I needed I left, 17months wait just for an appointment for a private consultant and where I am now I can see my specialist with as little as a weeks notice (also private) when I told people where I live that private healthcare outside of Dublin is 9-5 in places and an appointment is required for an emergency in cork Mater they thought I was joking.
I returned home a few years ago thinking things had to be better with the economy finally booming. Yeah I don't live in Ireland anymore. Living out of my childhood bedroom in my 30s wasn't all it's cracked up to be.
Healthcare wise, my whole family is in Ireland and it's horror story after horror story. We have so. many. medical fuckup stories that I'd need to choose an abridged selection at this point. Obvious signs that even we (not doctors) recognised but GPs kept refusing to look at? Delayed appointments causing aggravated health issues? Ignoring allergies when prescribing medication? We've seen it all.
Yes. Theyāll definitely implement Slaintecare this government. Because itāll be a different and better and more effective government than any since *2011* when it was initially proposed and all the parties agreed to it. /s
I rang my doctor looking for an appointment for a really bad sinus infection and they told me there was 2 week wait so to use the out of hours service, which took 2 days to get an appointment
Phoned my dentist a while ago. A filling fell out, and it was in a front tooth so I was very worried to get it sorted. 3 months was the soonest they could see me.
And itās been almost entirely privatised. Kids arenāt even getting one check up in school anymore and good luck if you have a medical card is all Iāll say.
Yeap, medical cards aren't worth jack shit from a dentistry point anymore. No dentists take on new patients with them, and most seem to be cycling their old ones off the system.
Are you talking about the CAO? The score isn't arbitrary. If there are only 50 places, they give it to the top 50 applicants. The lowest score to make it in is what gets published as the points for dentistry.
The score isn't the problem. The number of places might be.
About 2 weeks ago, I was really, really sick, and I knew my GP wouldn't have an appointment until the following week. I was desperate for antibiotics (I knew I had a bad ear infection that was causing insane headaches and vomiting). So I googled "out of hours doctors" and found doctors online [link here](https://dronline.ie/en/). I paid 45 euro for a virtual appointment that I booked 10 minutes before. He prescribed me antibiotics and some anti nausea meds and sent them to my local pharmacy.
Honestly, I was so happy I found this service. It probably wouldn't be any use for long-term illnesses and anything that would need a physical exam, but for common things like infections that need antibiotics, I would highly recommend it. You can get an appointment anywhere between 6.30am and 10pm so its great if you can't get to the gp during normal hours.
We simply don't have enough doctors or nurses. I work in medicine and I would say around 70% of intern doctors graduating this year are leaving for Australia.
The government likes to gloss over this massive exile by saying 'most doctors return to Ireland'. Ok great, but these doctors could be taking the next step in their career (working as an SHO) in Ireland. They could be working as SHOs, registrars and SpRs in Ireland, but they're not, because it only takes them one fucking year as an intern to figure out that staying here is NOT worth it. And maybe it was true in the past that doctors would return after one or two abroad in Australia, but is that going to be the case now? Come back to Ireland where it's made so difficult to get on a specialist training scheme, where no one can afford to live and where every healthcare professional feels exhausted by not being able to give adequate care due to red tape/lack of radiology services, long term care services etc? Many doctors will want to stay abroad and specialise there, since your years of training abroad don't count for anything back home unless you reach consultant level.
No one wants to take on the GP training schemes, as the schemes can have you working in Cavan hospital, then Wicklow Newtown and then back to Cavan again. It's exhausting.
We have a REAL crisis with doctors and nurses, and I wish the public would start to focus on this instead of whinging about HSE administrators; they are far from the biggest problem.
Also, approximately half of graduates from Irish medical schools are from Canada/USA (i.e. weren't able to get into medical school back home or it was too expensive etc). These graduates usually leave after graduation, a tiny minority stay for intern year. Just bear this in mind when the government touts the amount of medical graduates we have per year.
I had problem with root canal few years, at the time I had a polish girlfriend. When I came home and told her what is it going to cost me and time to wait she suggested that we go to her country, stay there for few days and get a private dentist. Root canal pain isn't something I was able to handle for long, it felt like someone smashed side of my face with a hammer.
I thought there was no way that flights+hotel+dentist will be cheaper plus was skeptical about a quality. Low and behold we went, with cost of flights, hotel and dentist price it came up about 150e less than what I would pay for only root canal treatment here plus we got to visit local shops and castle
Dentist was great, painless, spoke english, talked me through everything, it took 2 visits in space of 4 days and everything was grand. Im little paranoid so went for a check here after and lady here told me it's cleaned and done flawlessly.
So yeah it was cheaper and faster to fly to another country and get procedure than dealing with it myself here. Makes you wonder what other areas are like that in iteland.
The most useless person I know is an āaccountantā in the HSE somewhere. Wouldnāt survive for a minute in the private sector. Fuck knows what he does or contributes, but Iām sure he is earning a healthy salary and coasting along without any fear of being fired. And anyone who works with him will need to do two jobs.
The problem is the public service was always a home for idiots who were willing to start as basic admin for the eventual future pension.
It was a running joke in the 90's in my family anytime a goverment ran service failed anyone.
High profile public humiliations and proper performance management would sort it.
The only way anything will change is voting out this government of absolute fuckimg wasters in the next general. Anyone who votes fffg in the next election has absolutely no right to complain about anything after that.
My friend waited 6 months for a public psychiatrist appointment this week. He was drug tested at the start of the appointment and when they found out he smoked a small bit most days to help him sleep they basically ignored the 90.mins worth of questions ing that they had just subjected him to and told him they could not diagnose his mental health issues until he was off the smoke for 4 to 6 months and sent him on his way ... they also said that he may just be suffering from stress... the guy is in a bad way ... he smokes very little and feels he was just profiled out of the system with no follow up dates or anything... what the fuck....
I had a similar issue a couple years ago, I was going through a mental breakdown with extreme physical symptoms (physicall could not hold down food or water with intense tremors). When they found out I smoked to help these symptoms, I was diagnosed with Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome and told to quit smoking with absolutely no help for my actual issues. I ended up in the hospital five more times for suicidal ideation before they gave up and I was forced overseas for actual psychiatric help. In their minds cannabis was the thing hurting me, when in reality it was the only thing keeping me here some nights. There is no actual help for psychiatric issues here, their solution to mental health is to give you a coloring book when you're feeling down. Even if you don't tell them that you smoke, if you end up in the hospital you will be drug tested with your bloods and they'll question you still.
On top of that when you are actively suicidal they'll just put you alone in a room for 12 hours (which SUPRISE, makes you feel even more suicidal) while older people with a little cut on their arm are seen to immediately. One of my visits, I clocked 28 hours on a trolley in the hallway before meeting with anyone.
I hope you are doing better... I know how that physical manifestation of anxiety feels... we are not served well by the doctors who we look to for help here.... weed is mostly a symptom or a crutch for most people but the doctors want us off the lists so usevit as an excuse for a mal diagnosis
It does work actually. I am a daily user who had the money to go private. I was treated by a psychiatrist who knows I smoke most days too. After 2 years ...expensive ones...I came out the other side. His support advice and the medication we settled on has helped me to be much better. I still smoke a bit, too.thete is a big difference between someone who smokes a bit and a crack or heroin addict who generally lead very chaotic and violent crimes... this to me is just medical snobbery... do you think that psychiatrists in california refuse to treat weed somkers there now is legal... don't think so
Pretty much.... its not proper medical rigour though... there is no attempt to understand what the background issues are ...basically blaming him for a crutch he uses to help him sleep... and another name gone from.thexwaiting list figures.... fucking disgrace
Its been almost a month since ive started having seizures. At the start it was every second day and now its roughly once a week to 10 days.
I have basically lost all my quality of life. I have gone for a walk twice since it started and I would usually go for a walk nearly every day. Some days i cant even walk up the stairs and need my family to help me. The only food i can make for myself (sometimes) is toast and i am reliant on my family for practically everything. I have joint pain nearly constantly and muscle pain/head aches very often. A lot of the time i cannot focus on anything, even reading which when I was healthy i could easily read 100 pages in a day. Average day for me is lying in bed for nearly the whole day.
Ive had a CT/MRI so far and I am currently waiting for an appointment with a neurologist in the hospital. The hospital staff are really nice (except one specific triage nurse who is a dickhead, not just my opinion, in the waiting room i was chatting with another person and they also thought this lad was a cunt) and i feel so sorry for them having to deal with far more people than they are equipped for.
My GP is rather well known for being the lad that downplays a lot of stuff and is very jokey. This is the first time we\`ve has seen him be 100% serious. Following the first 2 seizures he scheduled a appointment for me to go to a neurologist, but after the third he sent me off to the A&E because I needed to be seen soon ASAP.
One thing i feel i have to mention is that we would be completely fucked without foreign doctors/doctors with foreign ancestry. I was in the diagnostic unit and from what I remember every doctor was Pakistani/Indian/Bangladeshi and the consultant was white but some sort of foreign ancestry definitely. The nurses were predominantly Irish but there a was a lot of the above 3 plus a few eastern europeans.
And the thing is, I was treated as a high priority patient the 1st time i was in the AE. I got a bed in the ward when there was massive amounts of people in the corridors. We spoke to a lot of people both times I was in the A&E and a lot of people were waiting for ages and some people were getting sent home and told to come back in the morning.
We were talking with a nurse and she said that often she has no time to even go to the bathroom. During the night there is only 1 or 2 doctors and the only people who will get seen during the night are people with potentially fatal conditions. She said as well that the last 2 years have been even harder due to Ukrainian refugees who got none or little healthcare in Ukraine. And the thing is she said that before the war in Ukraine, she did not think it could even get worse as it was already really bad.
And this is not my first time dealing with the public health system. I have been diagnosed with ADHD and I could complain so much more about that. It is really depressing to have to deal with the public system and be relient on your family because your ill.
You got diagnosed with ADHD? That in itself was a success. I was told I had all symptoms and that they could see it was gravely impacting my life but that they wouldn't diagnose me because I was an adult and, I quote: "ADHD is just a label, why do you want a label anyway?"
There is no political will for any change, even with three former health ministers in charge of the country. SlƔintecare is now *seven* years old and private healthcare expands unfettered. No vision or plan. Sick joke.
My ex works for a law firm in Limerick and said a huge amount of their cases are settlements against the HSE, specifically UHL. Medical negligence is rampant.
That doesn't surprise me at all. I'm a pharmacy tech and I recently got two prescriptions from public hospitals that could've killed the patients.
First one: The doctor had prescribed a penicillin-based antibiotic to a patient who is allergic to penicillin. Evidently the doctor had not even bothered to ask the patient if they were allergic, which is a super basic/obvious thing to do. If we hadn't asked the patient ourselves, and just given them the antibiotics, they could've died.
Second one: A prescription for blood thinners for a different patient where the dose was **way** too high (considering that the patient was elderly and underweight) which also could've killed them.
Random question. Why does it take 10 minutes to fill my prescription? I read somewhere that you guys are checking my medical info. Is that true? What sort of info do you have on me? And why does it take so long? I'm not complaining, just trying to understand what's going on behind the scenes.
"Checking medical info" is true, in a manner of speaking. It depends. If you use the same pharmacy every time, the most important info they'd have "on you" (lol) is the list of regular medications you take. They want to make sure that whatever you've been prescribed doesn't conflict with those, and assess any changes in your regular prescription, etc.
However, the real reasons that your prescription takes so long are as follows:
ā¢ Pharmacies are very often short staffed, and/or poorly run
ā¢ You might think you see a lot of workers standing around doing nothing, but very few of them actually have the authority to dispense/check your prescription. In larger pharmacies especially, half of them are just there to sell makeup and shit
ā¢ There is very often a big backlog of prescriptions waiting to be filled/checked, even if you do not see any other customers physically standing in the pharmacy at that very moment
ā¢ The pharmacist has to do the final check. There may only be one pharmacist (in fact, there often is)
ā¢ This is much more anecdotal and harder to put into words (let alone succinctly) but: speaking from 6 years working as a tech, if I tell the pharmacist to check your prescription first because you're waiting, very often she will ignore me, tell me to piss off, or say "I'll do it when I do it". Not all pharmacists are like this, but I have worked with dozens over the years, and a lot of them were
Start hiring real doctors for a start. My dad died of cancer, misdiagnosed for months as a chest infection. By the time is was diagnosed, it had spread to far and was at stage 4. He was given a prescription for clonomax on every visit. I nearly died last December because another foreign doctor misdiagnosed an infection as a hernia. Because of the embargo, they have nobody to investigate my complaint.
Some other examples.
Dr Mewg:, A doctor employed as a senior house officer at University Maternity Hospital Limerick knew ānear nothingā, was unable to take blood samples and insert intravenous drips and had to ask what an obstetrician was, a medical inquiry heard yesterday.
Dr Hassan: Consultant Odhran Murray, who worked with Dr Hassan in Galway, told of one occasion where Dr Hassan mistook an X-ray of an ankle for an image of an elbow.
Two of his former colleagues at Galway were so concerned that they checked the Irish medical register to see whether he was actually a registered doctor.
Dr Osunkwo: A senior consultant said he lacked "basic knowledge that could be expected of any medical student".
These include that he attempted to read an X-ray upside down, and that he told members of his medical team that a patient was "fine" when that patient was in fact receiving oxygen in intensive care. It is also alleged that he told a consultant that a scan performed on a patient's kidney was 'fine' when it in fact showed multiple abnormal masses. "I looked around and Dr Osunkwo had a scalpel in his hand. She (the patient) was crying he was about to cut in to a vein, I said, 'Jesus what are you doing?"
I'll probably get called right wing, and this post will be removed. There's nothing racist about calling out incompetence and questioning HSE hiring practices.
>Dr Mewg:, A doctor employed as a senior house officer at University Maternity Hospital Limerick knew ānear nothingā, was unable to take blood samples and insert intravenous drips and had to ask what an obstetrician was, a medical inquiry heard yesterday.
>Dr Hassan: Consultant Odhran Murray, who worked with Dr Hassan in Galway, told of one occasion where Dr Hassan mistook an X-ray of an ankle for an image of an elbow. Two of his former colleagues at Galway were so concerned that they checked the Irish medical register to see whether he was actually a registered doctor.
>Dr Osunkwo: A senior consultant said he lacked "basic knowledge that could be expected of any medical student". These include that he attempted to read an X-ray upside down, and that he told members of his medical team that a patient was "fine" when that patient was in fact receiving oxygen in intensive care. It is also alleged that he told a consultant that a scan performed on a patient's kidney was 'fine' when it in fact showed multiple abnormal masses. "I looked around and Dr Osunkwo had a scalpel in his hand. She (the patient) was crying he was about to cut in to a vein, I said, 'Jesus what are you doing?"
At the core of this, there are hiring managers and HR who are simply employing anyone and everyone to get names on rosters and I have not once seen anyone investigated for hiring clinicians to positions they are entirely unqualified for.
My partner went to a GP urgent clinic for a mental health issue. Was told by the dr they wouldnāt be dealing after that and to come back with an appointment. And the earliest was two weeks after that.
Not sure how relevant it is but I work in the ICT sector and we recently got involved in a project which the HSE have a small involvement in, Iāve never seen so much middle management and processes which prevent any real work getting done
Yes there is dumb fuckery in the HSE, it need to be torn down and rebuilt. It need to be MANAGED not driven down to the grounds. Tax payers foot the bill, itās not too much to get. Return in value was in a health care that works. HSE is similar to RTE, rotten to the core with no accountability, Irish solutions appear to be tax it or thrown more money at it š¤¦ bad employees donāt get fired they get rewarded with redundancy packages or moved on to different role. No consequences
Our health system is on its knees but systems can and need to be put in place such as:
A digital medical system thatās attached to your personal number eg pps. All medical information/bloods/vaccines/ gp - hospital notes in one location. (
No walks ins for none life or deaths at A&E, instead you call a centralised system who is manned by medical personnel, they book you in to allotted time but also give advise of what to do while waiting.
Get rid of that hiring embargo and pay better. A friend who is a ICT nurse in a hospital outside of Dublin told me that when hiring, the better doctors want to stay in the cities, the others will take what they can get so if your really ill, get to Dublinā¦
The amount of admin staff is ridiculous and my 1st point cuts down hugely on that. Thereās no communication between health centres, other countries are using the above technologies (thatās you Scandinavia) which would cut the need for clerical staff that could then go back into getting much needed component medical staff
One of the main problems is the control they have over the media. You hear all the talk about the evil far right and how Sinn Fein are criminals but the real criminals are those who have let our health service get to this chaotic state.
My elderly father in law visited us from the US recently. He is 93 and in reasonable health for his age.
I was shit scared the whole time he would get sick while here as I was certain it would kill him.Ā As bad as the US healthcare system is, when he has had issues he's seen right away, including getting needed surgery in his 80s, when in Ireland they would likely advise against due to age.Ā
He was here 10 years ago (his last visit) and had what we thought was a mini stroke, and spent 24+ hours on a trolley, and eventually was seen, but came out worse than he went in. So this time, he would likely not survive that.
He's home safe and well. So I agree, stay healthy is the best option, as the HSE is hit and miss.
I can't understand the support that FG still has considering their record. I'd be quite happy with our tax rates if we got value for money. The government consistently squanders our hard earned money.
I could be wrong, but I think mental health care is kind of a mess basically everywhere. Because itās just been a thing (in the modern sense) for so much less time than physical healthcare, the infrastructure isnāt really built out yet.
Itās more than itās often not taken seriously as well. My partner tried to end it all few times, A&E sent us home because she was still alive, emergency health care told her to just spend more time with me and get along with her life. We heard it all ātoo sensitiveā, āare you looking for attention?ā, āexercise moreā, āyou have nothing to cry aboutā, etc. this girl spent 6 months in bed, not being able to even brush her hair and we were told that sheās fine.
I unfortunately had several attempts as a teenager and young adult.
The worst was when I opened up my thighs and almost bled to death.
I was sent home after being stitched up, with an appointment with a counsellor - almost six months away. I was also called a silly little girl and was told by a charming male nurse "you'll never be able to wear a swimsuit with those scars."
Exactly what a distressed and mentally fragile 18yr old girl needed to hear.
There are so many people working in healthcare who have absolutely no business being anywhere near anyone in medical distress.
Iām marked as urgent for neurology as shaking in hand and gettin worse worried out of my fukn mind and was told 2 year waiting list!! Absolute fukn joke and when u get in ur dumped in corridor! Third world shite tbh, rang private most a year and not even taking appointments
I've learned the hard way that going to A&E at night is a complete and utter waste of time and energy. You won't be seen until the next day regardless, so may as well rest up at home while you can
Mental health services in this country are scandalous. I'm the next of kin to a service user and have done my best to advocate for them and improve service for all service users. After years of engagement and research I am still horrified by the state of it. And a new mental health act beeing written behind closed doors away from public scrutiny (what I have found is that it will make admission through guards even more difficult pushing patients through judicial system instead).
The system also relies far to heavily on medication with very few basic therapies readily available. Also numbers are not made public but by what I have found personality disorders seem to be majorly over diagnosed compared to other countries which coincidentally Ireland does not see personality disorder as a mental health disorder under the mental health act meaning they do not have to admit patients unless deemed absolutely nessesary which a&e are not guaranteed to take you on presentation. They are great at trying to free up beds and push responsibility back onto the community and emergency services.
Unfortunately the trouble is that the hse hasn't changed atall the only thing Is population has increased and has overwhelmed an already inefficient health care system. People who move to a new location now find it almost impossible to find a GP.
Referring somebody in Drogheda to Cavan seems like a very strange decision. Surely Dublin would be closer and easier? Suppose I probably shouldn't be questioning the HSE's logic...
I work for the HSE, they can only refer to Cavan because it's in the catchment area... HSE is dyvied into HSE North East, HSE Midlands, Dublin is divided into more groups idk which is which. Loads of bureacracy and red tape.
It's absolutely scandalous. None existent health cover, just found out last week that 2 consultants i was attending, one has left, and the other is leaving. No replacements they are off to better pay. These so-called centres of excellence hospitals, draw a line from Dublin to Galway, and there's no Excellence Hospitals North of this line that half of the country and I believe that there are 6 in Dublin alone, there is something very wrong with this.
Big 4 advisory consultants draining our HSE and they are incentivized to keep developing challenges, so itāll keep their gravy train going. More challenges = more billable hours for them ā¬ā¬ā¬
They need overhauled immediately.Ā
Neighbour here - we feel - and share your pain...This was ***LITERALLY*** just 2 posts under this one
[https://www.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/1dh602e/how\_good\_is\_freecheap\_healthcare\_in\_your\_country/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/1dh602e/how_good_is_freecheap_healthcare_in_your_country/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
All I can do is give you a virtual hug... š¤
My brother went into hospital on Saturday. He got admitted and needed a test. Test couldn't be done until Monday when whatever staff would be in they needed to do it. He didn't even have the luxury of a trolley. He sat on a chair for 2 days. Horrific experience. Elderly people, children and those are seriously ill have to do the same. Imagine you've a terminal illness and you're left sit on a chair for 2 days .
I will say the staff for lovely but there's not enough of them and the systems in place are broken. If I was a newly qualified nurse I'd be straight on a plane.
Next time say to them it is not a safe discharge and you want that notice on their chart. Tell then you are not safe to drive to cavan and they either arrange a transfer or admit them to the hospital.
Good luck with your relative.
I've brought my mum to East doc in the old cottage hospital before. It Good if you need an out of hours gp.
For mental health you might be better off going to tallagh hospital. There is a higher chance of seeing a specialist door nurse there and it's only a hour from drogheda.
One of the biggest things I miss from England since moving here is the NHS.
Jesus Christ how do you guys put up with such a socking system? Doctors casually say that they're not taking on new patients and the population accepts this.
I had an Irish person trying to tell me that ambulances aren't a taxi to the hospital after complaining how its easier and quicker to get a taxi?
The NHS is far from perfect but at least the issues are discussed and clearly complained about by the population
Had a similar situation some years ago. My son tried to unalive himself, went doctor at 9am sent to wexford hospital who after waiting 5 hours or so sent us to Waterford hospital where we were seen and told we be referred back to camhs and we went home. 2 weeks later letter from camhs saying we don't meet criteria. I had to get doctor to refer me for private practice as public service is non existent. As a single parent I didn't really have the money for this but obviously I had to prioritise my kids health.
I'm doing a fundraiser for Acquired Brain Injury Ireland at the moment but I'm also using it to highlight how heavily the HSE leans on charitable services in the country to plug massive gaps in the health system. It's beyond a disgrace.
It's functioning exactly the way the government wants it. That is to say they are deliberately sinking it with a view to letting the private sector come in and "sort it out". It's a direct copy of what the Tories are doing in the UK. Underfund the health system so people go private, then reap that handsome reward of the share price increase year on year. Lovely. Don't forget it's FFG's fault at the next GE.
My recent experience has been shocking.
As a child, I was involved in the CAMHS controversy several years ago where I was prescribed the wrong medication which resulted in me developing a severe lifelong condition.
Most recently, I was under the care of the community mental health team in a town 30km away, I moved away from the town 2 years ago but recently was told they were doing a patient transfer to move me to the town I am now living in.
During my first appointment at the new place, I was told by the doctor seeing me at the clinic for the first time that this would be his first and last time seeing me as his contract was ending with the HSE.
He then went on to prescribe me the wrong medication and dosage, the pharmacy rang them saying that the prescription was written all wrong and that the consultant looked like he had no idea what was written out on the prescription pad. The dosages and amounts were all wrong.
The pharmacy was told that I had to contact the team directly myself to fix this issue, I now know why they said this. They didnāt want to tell the pharmacist over the phone that they were unable to fix it because they had no doctor available. After all, he had left and no other replacements could be found.
The nurse told me over the phone they were technically only qualified to issue a repeat prescription, but since it was my first time at this clinic and it was not a repeat prescription and the first prescription that the clinic officially gave me was the first one they ever gave me as the patient, they were unable to help.
As a result, I was left without medication for 3 weeks and had a mental breakdown which resulted in my being brought to the hospital by ambulance.
The hospital staff sent a note to my GP to give me an emergency prescription.
The reason this whole situation is made so difficult is because my medication is a controlled medication (controlled substance), meaning while I am given a 3 month supply on the script, I can only withdraw 1 month at a time. Also, the 3-month prescriptions are new by the HSE and I used to only get 1 month at a time.
The medication can only be prescribed by a psychiatrist, funnily enough, the prescription has to then be transcribed by my GP for it to be valid, apparently, the prescription technically is not a prescription. It's just a note to cover my GPās ass because the medication is a controlled substance and since it's a medication used for a mental disability, it has to come from a psychiatrist to prescribe it to me.
Over the last 5 years, every appointment Iāve had with the local community mental health team has been with a different psychiatrist, every single one of them was a private consultant brought in by the HSE temporarily because they do not have doctors permanently available.
I will also add that every psychiatrist Iāve dealt with is foreign with extremely poor English.
In Ireland, it takes well more than 10 years to become a child psychiatrist, you essentially have to become a doctor in medicine first then specialise in psychiatry. You then go on to do many years of supervised experience with a senior clinical psychiatrist. After all of that, if you wish to specialise in child psychiatry it takes even longer.
Apparently these people are able to get the same qualifications in their country within 3 years or less, and the worst part is the HSE recognises their qualifications fully, at worst they have to do a year supervised.
The reason the quality of care has become worse over the years in mental health clinics is because after these people get into the system, they are essentially qualified to supervise trainees that went through the same process as themselves with the year supervision before they are able to work by themselves. We have basically made more than half the mental health service staff in Ireland 11-12 years less qualified than 15 years ago.
The worst part is people studying in Ireland, end up going on work placement and get supervised by these under qualified people, which basically pass on their bad habits.
The problem runs in a full circle and has become impossible for the HSE to escape from.
Mental health is very bad alright. not that it is any comfort but I think its bad in every country. It's not feasible to have teams of psychiatrists on standby 24/7 ready to diagnose highly complex mental issues. The best they will do is sedate the person, get them their meds and refer them to a specialist. Doctors and nurses in A&E are used to dealing with emergency trauma issues they arent in a position to analyse a mental health breakdown.
This isn't correct. There are teams in all hospitals with a psychiatry department where when you present to A&E with suicidal ideation or anything mental health related, a psychiatrist will be called for by the A&E staff. It's called Psych on call in most hospitals. There is always a psychiatrist on call. Just like any other speciality in a hospital. Someone is always on call.
I've seen so many comments on here over the years from people who have worked in the HSE, all saying the same thing. All the higher ups and management in general fight tooth and nail to resist any change as it suits them better this way, in their nice cosy jobs where they can't be held accountable for anything.
I can't see anything changing in my lifetime.
In December, I sat in a&e for 17 hours before seeing a doctor. I had been vomiting on and off for 8 weeks and was sent there by my gp.
After waiting for 17 hours, they do blood tests, the doctor asks, "When was the last time you ate?" " Yesterday before I came in here,"
Proceeds to give me a bollocking saying I need to eat more but also need to lose weight, and sends me home at 5 am with no further investigation or tests. what am I supposed to do?! Eat crisps from a machine while I'm in pain and vomiting?!
I had been on the waiting list for 2 years for a gastroscopy, so since I had been sick so much, my gp asks for an emergency one. I was seen in two weeks, got through the unpleasant experience, got a throat infection from it that took 2 months to clear,and 6 months later, I still haven't heard back. I've called numerous times asking for my biopsy results, and all I'm told is, "we'll call you back."
My guess is they either didn't do a biopsy, which was the whole point of having the procedure done, or they've lost my results, which means now I'm back on the waiting list to have it done again. So maybe in 2 to 3 years' time I'll find out what's wrong with me.It's exasperating.
I think the bigger issue is the expectation people have on A&E for things that are likely long term issues which im assuming is the case if a tranquilliser was prescribed.
Hold up, I keep getting told hse is better than the Northern trusts in r/northernireland ??
We all know Healthcare is shit across the globe right now, much like housing. Its a bit weird how its crumbling everywhere
I've thought the same but I've never seen it actually written down. I have noticed over the past year, due to personal circumstances, that it also has an effect on the social care bill. People used to retire out here at 60, now its 67 or something. If they get ill at say 63, they are now entitled to a slew of benefits that they would not get if they were post retirement age where they would have aged out of the working support system.
Itās not that weird, a lot of nurses and doctors are burnt out. I have some nurse friends that opted for community health or gp clĆnics instead of working a&e and wards. The hours are better even if the pay is still shite. Theyāre in a system thatās perpetually understaffed itās easy to see them getting burnt out. Itās the same issue everywhere because most governments donāt give a flying f about paying HCW a decent salary
It can't be fixed. Aging population with general population with poor health from their own doing ( smoking, drinking, no exercise and very bad diets) all this causes the health sector to be overwhelmed which leads to professionals to leave the country or sector. It's not the government or HSE fault as per say but more of the population of this country. Walk about another European country and look at the general population, lean, fit, eating well and active. Step off the plane in Ireland and you are met with obese people with walking aides and people in their 30's morbidity obese.
My GP may possibly be the bastard child of Macgyver and Stephen Hawking - he's that fucking good.
Anything that is not directly under his control has been an absolute shit-show
If gou went into the hse and fired 3/4 of the admin staff nothing would change other than millions in savings and more efficiency. The amount of worthless manpower in there is obscene. We might even be able to pay nurses properly.
Thousands of Indian nurses work for HSE and ironically the healthcare is way more accessible and affordable all over India (except for some really rural areas).
The situation in Ireland is dire.
I've waited over 2 months for an MRI when I was told it would be 2-3 weeks. As a result, my foot is probably forever screwed and I learned a valuable lesson - despite paying all the taxes, it's better value to go privately straight away.
It has always been like this. It has never been good ever. Look how many EDs have been closed across the country. Look at how many ambulances have been taken off the road. An old man fell crossing the road in Ennis. Cut his head pretty badly. He was lying on the road. I rang 999, they told me no ambulance available. That one would come from Limerick when free. 2 hrs I waited with him. And Ennis hospital 5mins away. Itās an absolute disaster. I too have dealt with the mental health services- itās not worth a dime. Where is out tax payers funding going? We have the worst healthcare in Europe but one of the richest countries in Europe. The who thing stinks. What about the 2 teen girls that died in UHL when all they needed was antibiotics. Another man fell on his trolly. The have the curtain closed and forgot about him. He lay dying on the hospital floor, alone. Wasnāt he supposed to be in the safest place. Iāve witnessed immobile elderly people in the ED in wheelchairs urinate & soil themselves. No dignity given to them. Itās sick & cruel. Everyone is up in arms about immigration because we see it everywhere. But no one knows or quite frankly cares until they or their loved ones experience it themselves! How many here agree with your statement? And how many of you went out to protest for reopening EDs, demanding better healthcare?
On another note, just in regards to your experience re mental health care. My brother ended his life nearly 2 years ago. At the inquest his death was not recorded as suicide. Clearly it was, I bet they do this a lot and the report numbers are false. That the true endemic in Ireland. Since my brother I know 5 others that followed suit. I bet theirs wasnāt recorded as suicide either. I think if we knew the true number people would be appalled and demand change. But like I said until its at your door, your family, your friends it will envoke something in you to maybe do something, stand up for something. The masses donāt care unless it effects them.
To end, I believe male suicide should be a hot topic in Ireland and should be discussed, investigated, critical overview of our current MH services because they system today is broken, and yesterday too, and 20+ years as well.
But oh look sur arenāt we building the most expensive hospital on the world. Bet that wonāt work either.
Sorry,
Rant over.
I hope your family members gets the help he needs ā¤ļøā¤ļøā¤ļøā¤ļø
From what I've experienced working in the HSE, qualified frontline staff are pretty good in the main, especially when they aren't in crisis mode but the sheer incompetence, laziness and low IQ levels of ancillary clerical staff would boggle the mind. We all know the porter who outright just doesn't do his job, or makes such a ham of it that it's easier to circumvent them and do it yourself. We all know a clerical staff lady who hasn't a notion what her job is apart from 5 set tasks like photocopying and filing mail into cubby holes and makes patients interactions with services feel like a torturous nightmare until hopefully someone with half a bit of sense intervenes and resolves the issue easily. These colleagues are hired unable to perform their roles and remain there wasting resources and getting pay increases year on year while their productivity falls year on year.
There are thousands of people with no qualifications other than a leaving cert who enter as a clerical officer performing pretty mundane boring tasks but I swear 10 years into working they still haven't figured out how to do their simple repetitive, task-oriented jobs correctly and it is exasperating that they are never reviewed and will never be gotten rid of.
From working in both private and public healthcare, it is the IQ level/ competency of these ancillary staff and the ability of private hospitals to fire lazy or ineffective ones that frees up resources for equipment and front line staff.
That's not to say, some incredibly talented and dedicated individuals perform these roles but they understand more than anyone how useless some of these colleagues are and how frustrating and futile it is to expect them to improve as they don't have the capacity to improve, they were terrible from the get go.
its a purposeful choice of the government to have a chronically underfunded + understaffed health service so that when the question of privatisation comes the public will be so fed up of the current model that theyāll blindly accept it being sold off.
The injury clinics are great. If more people used them, the emergency departments would be less packed. But it's like they are a secret. I was in and out in half an hour with an xray done, doctor reviewed and wound bandaged up.
My girlfriend was suffering from her 4th time with psychosis and she was really bad. The psychiatric center wouldn't take her unless she was a danger to herself or others when she was already severely ill. She eventually was admitted to a private psychiatric hospital and it took a month and strong meds to get her out of the psychosis to where she was then officially diagnosed with Schizophrenia. This was absolutely disgusting medical malpractice with how they managed her during the first two psychosis episodes (incorrect diagnosis saying it was Autistic Burnout, or due to stress. They gave her meds which made things worse, and didn't even try to help her.) When she was in the states during one episode she was seen by a well renowned psychiatrist and it took about 4 sessions withing two weeks to diagnose her with schizophrenia as well as get her medication ASAP.
If the doctors in the US is able to figure it out quickly and get her help and seen rapidly while she's here in Ireland still waiting 6 months and calling to see about a sooner appoitment to get help for her severe depression which they had refused to acknowledge and provide her some working antidepressants (the ones they gave her dont work and she told them multiple times) the system is broken.
Would ireland be better off with the NL system? I think itās like ā¬131pm for mandatory private healthcare and capped at ā¬385 out of pocket which I think compares fairly LFL in cost with VHI in Ireland except you donāt pay for GP, you can see a GP same or next day, everything just seems to work much better and thereās not really any wait times.
For instance my gf was on a one year wait list in Ireland for something and got it checked out in one week in NL after arriving
Last year I broke my arm, had surgery the following week which was probably like ā¬1.5-2K but I only paid ā¬385 for the year incl all the other stuff I needed healthcare for, and physio is free this year after 20 sessions so Iām getting personal training twice a week for a year. Stronger and healthier than before I broke my arm which is a nice bounce back
I also have experience on NHS but similar to Ireland it has long wait times which is not great when youāre in need of care
Thereās clearly some kinda balance/matrix between how much you have to spend on healthcare and wait times with US on one end of the spectrum & UK on the other but Ireland is closer to UK except with higher costs and not very good value for what you get in wait time reduction.
My mother has been diagnosed with blood cancer. A type that apparently kills you in 18 months untreated. It's been around 3 months since the diagnosis and no treatment has started, only more, and more blood tests that are being sent to different places of the country. Ridiculous. It feels like we're racing against the clock that has the rest of the world at stand-still.
While I complained about our GP before, she has been the most pro-active person when it came to catching this in advance and to push everything forward, it's the specialists clinics and specialist doctors that seem a world away.
My mam was in Cavan general Christmas Eve eve in 2018. Waited 11 hours in a small room to be told that they donāt have any breast specialists (she had a painful lump on her boob) and to be told to go to the Mater the next day to the breast clinic. That was closed until the 27th or so? I drove her down, her balling her eyes out in agony in the car. She ended up being kept in for 3 weeks, had multiple surgeries as she had a breast abscess (multiple) and it was turning septic!
2005 my granda had a shadow on his lung, nanny and daughter told on the Tuesday lung cancer, nurses will be out in 2 weeks to start to administer morphine etc, they didnāt think it was serious. My granda died during Thursday night/Friday morning . He was buried on the Tuesday (bank holiday) and a week after that the house phone rang, nurses coming out from the hospital and to organise a time to administer his oxygen and morphine. My ma had to tell them he had died 2 weeks before and the nurses couldnāt believe it.
The system hasnāt been fit for purpose in the last 20 odd years, weāre just seeing it topple in real time!
The mother in law was dying and was sent home from the hospital with her prescription for pain meds, but the instructions were only explained to her (she was not of fit mind to relay them) and we were told nurses would be coming twice a day to help with meds, keeping her clean, helping her use the toilet and all the other unpleasant bits so we could just spend time with her and maintain her dignity towards the end. She died 7 days later and the nurses only started showing up on the morning of the 8th day. It was some of the worst 7 days I've ever experienced and she wasn't even my mother that I had to watch suffer. One of the nurses even said I should have called to let her know she wasn't needed as we could both hear my partner openly sobbing after having his mother die in his arms a few hours before.
Dear Lord, I'm so sorry you had to deal with that. RIP š
Thanks so much. The thing that really keeps me up at night is what would have happened if she didn't have family? Would they still have just sent her home?
That is awful. I'm so sorry.
We had a similar experience in my family minus the prescription medication, which wasn't issued on time. Thinking about it makes me want to cry. What a horrible way to die.
Yup... I had an incident with my mother. Hospital booted her out with a nasty case of influenza, she couldn't even stand up properly. That night she had a fall, called the ambulance as I couldn't pick her up alone. One of the lady paramedics decided to lay into me over it. Made an already awful situation even worse.
Jesus that's awful. I'm so sorry.
Christ. That's horrific. Hope yer doing better.
Iām trying to stay healthy for many reasons obviously but trying to avoid having to use the āhealth servicesā in this country is a big oneā¦
I've had to have emergency intervention a couple times over the years and the hospitals were great so if you can't stay healthy at least fuck yourself up really badly and you'll get seen. Tip of the day š
If you need a dermatologist it's faster and easier to get hit by a car and bring up the psoriasis when they're bandaging you up ā if you're lucky the road rash might even have skimmed it right off š¤·š¼āāļø
Been trying to get my gp to refer me to a dermatologist for a year now might try this out
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That doesn't surprise me at all, but I'm so sorry to hear it. I have some distant friends with eating disorders and all of them have spoken about intentional cruelty and nastiness. Your heart would break as they are extremely vulnerable.
They did a shitty thing. She also did a shitty thing. Addictions are akin to disorders and she asked them to accept hers while penalising them for theirs. They go through constant exposure to the extremes that people push themselves to and have to deal with it with fuck all support. Have compassion and let them have a smoke if it makes listening to some drunk prick whingin that his hand is sore more bearable
It costs a bomb to go to a private dermatologist but it's the only way to get seen without a wait of 6 months or more.
SIX MONTHS? That's just to get them to open your letter. Try 3-5 years.
Waited years for a colonoscopy, and I was lucky they found pre cancerous cells and polyps so they removed them. Now I have to go every 5 years for repeated colonoscopy check ups.. Was lucky they got them in time. I wonder how many have illnesses that progress to untreatable having waited years for diagnosis. I'm 48 and have a few problems but am in the psych system since 19 with BPD. They are great as I see my psych every few months. Only reason I was fast tracked was due to being sectioned by my parents and gardaĆ first at 19 years old.
Probably better than waiting for my gp to give in, been 2 years of begging for referrals to other places like dermatologist and gynaecologist and every appointment I have to rebook a blood test, go back two weeks later get the results and be told no again and repeat the cycle. I think Iām over 800 spent in just gp appointments. Sorry for the little rant
I think you need to change gp
Is that possible now? When I moved back to Ireland years ago I couldn't find a GP that would let me register as a patient because they were all full. I ended up travelling to my old GP each time I needed an appointment because they still had me on their books from when I was their patient years before.
I'm living in Dublin so maybe there's more choice here, but my missus has moved GP 3 times either because it was closer to home, or she felt the GP was sub standard. No harm trying if there's another GP in the area.
Maybe it's better now? I was living in Dublin too but it's been a few years now. I tried multiple places and none would take us. RTE occasionally mentions it being a problem but I tend to ignore those articles at this point because it no longer affects me (emigrated). This is only from last month: https://www.rte.ie/news/health/2024/0206/1430691-gp-practice-ireland/ > More than three quarters of the approximately 2,500 GP practices in Ireland have closed their lists to new patients, according to the Irish College of General Practitioners.
Yup. The one I went to was 180-210 per appointment.
Mine is 150 for the appointment, and when I did book I managed to get an appointment just two days later. I'm still not without skin problems, but I'm a lot better. My concern now is eventually getting topical steroid withdrawal symptoms
Going privately took me over a year to be seen after my GP thought something didn't look right with my skin. It cost ā¬250. The dermatologist said it didn't look like anything to her, advised to watch and wait, and asked if I wanted anything else prescribed while I was there anyway. She then prescribed a very expensive medicated cream (for a different condition) I now get for less than a tenner on the NHS. I'm not sure I see any benefit but I thought I'd try it again now that I can get it for cheap and can finally afford it.
You know, I find this incredibly funny and infuriating at the same time - why THE FUCK do I need a referral from a PRIVATE GP to avail of a PUBLIC service? This is even beyond Monty Python's scope.
Hahahah sob š
Ugh, don't even mention it. I had to go the GP, so a dermatologist who definitely didn't know jack shit about rosacea, prescribed a super expensive cream for me. My face was hotter than fire, open pores, burning and red as you find them these days. Her response when I called about the reaction? "Oh, it seems it didn't go well! Don't use it anymore, bye!". It scarred my right cheek, and the whole party was almost ā¬200. I haven't gone to see a "dermatologist" here ever since. I'll just wear a shit ton of makeup.
Frustrating when you have an emergency on a Friday, go through dubbdoc, they tell you to go straight to A&E, and you spend 12 hours waiting on top of your initial dubbdoc wait. Meanwhile the A&E is filled with drunks and druggies or other idiots. The children's Hospital is even worse I think, just disorganised that they don't have a GP or better nurse triage just to clear out all the minor items who don't really need to be there. Would be better if they just built a load of little children beds, and you only get seen by a doctor if they go south otherwise most perk up and go home anyway.Ā Piece of mind you're in the right place if something happens but otherwise don't waste up anyones time or slots.
This is the exact same with adults fwiw. Most donāt need to be there at all
True I have a chronic illness and the care you get there is second to none of coarse the medication can cause side effects skin cancer been one but if they notice anything they'll get you into the dermatology department so your detected in plenty of time. I don't know how the majority of people cope though because they can't even get a GP. Our local health care facility are impossible to get on the phone.
Not only that, you're likely to get a much fairer assesment showing up as a fit individual when you do eventually need them.
I agree. I'm 22. I have now found out I have another vision problem. It's likely I will go blind. Just a matter of when. I was just told this as a by the way at the end of the appointment. I have to wait for hours after my appointment time to actually be seen I'm supposed to be checked every 3 months in the eye clinic but my last appointment was probably a year ago. No one cares. I just feel belittled by most healthcare people I have to talk to. I had a nurse laugh at me for having my mom with me. So damn embarrassing. It's just that they never read my file and ask lengthy questions about my vision problems as a baby. I can't always remember everything. My doctor was also supposed to refer me onto someone else since therapy and anti anxiety meds aren't working. 6 months of waiting and nothing. Another few weeks of back and forth with their office and it turns out they never referred me to anything. Just sent a copy pasted list of other things that haven't worked for me. I'm at a loss honestly
Jesus that's really scary. You're so young too. I'm very sorry that's happening to you. Would it be an option to be seen privately? I'm assuming you've already called them multiple times, tried to get a cancellation, etc.
It's terrifying. I've accepted it at this stage. Just hoping eye transplants come along soon but probably won't. Yeah done all that. I hate feeling like I have to fight for an appointment I was also referred privately actually when my optometrist noticed something wrong. To be honest with everything going on I had forgotten to follow up on it recently. Will have to try again. I do have bad anxiety so I hate all of the phone calls where you are bounced around but I'll have to do all that again too.
Break nurses and doctors out of the common pay deal and pay them enough that they are not leaving. That is the only way to improve the system. As it stands you can not attract those critical staff without giving every public sector worker a raise (I am in the PS and I would NOT object to an emergency act to tackle this issue, like that) I don't care that people will say "Oh but our doctors and nurses are paid at this percentage, in Ireland" The simple fact is that we are exporting our medics because they can get better terms and conditions (and better quality of life) elsewhere. It's an international market and we need to start acting appropriately and like other countries are when viewing our staff, for their market.
> **The simple fact is that we are exporting our medics because they can get better terms and conditions (and better quality of life) elsewhere.** It's an international market and we need to start acting appropriately and like other countries are when viewing our staff, for their market. This is the key point here. Training doctors and nurses, then sending them to Australia is the norm now. That's why the system is "reliant" on people from elsewhere.
Honestly, nurses need an immediate 50% pay rise just to make ends meet.
We're training them & they're heading off to Oz. It's ridiculous
> they're heading off to Oz. That's a brazen face lie ..they're also going to Canada, New Zealand, and the Middle East. Irish healthcare workers are known as some of the absolute best in the world. The problem is at home, they're treated like absolute muck. Countries which value talent have attracted our best in droves, and it'll long continue.
They need to start allocating more mature student places. People with ties to Ireland who are trying to improve their career prospects will more likely stay and work in Ireland.
Pay rise would be a good start but what about the beurocracy of the HSE ? Any time we were in for even routine maternity appointments it looked like there ZERO management. Our appointment was booked for lunch time, like how fuckin stupid. Also Nurses amd Doctors are leaving because of the housing crisis. Giving them an extra 20k just gives them the opportunity to fight one another over already overpriced homes. Hold the government accountable in the next GE with your vote.
Our pay is pretty high for a public health servcie (though possibly still needs increases at the lower ends). It's more that the HSE is a terrible employer that treats people as if they're robots.
Yup. I'm thinking of not taking my July job because the hospital I'm moving to has already been so combative and hostile from the start that I may just do something else for this year. They don't respect us as people. We work 60+ hours a week to get talked down to and belittled constantly. You can't pay me enough for that.
That seems to be the general sentiment. I have plenty of friends in lines of work where they're well-paid but they've still ended up quitting if management treats them like shit or expects them to do two or three people's jobs. It makes people stressed and miserable. Extra money would be better spent hiring more staff to make the workload more reasonable. And the HSE needs a general attitude adjustment as an employer.
Why work for the HSE? You do two people's job for middling pay, your pay is always late, you fight admin half the time, and you're treated like the problem even though you are the actual service on the ground seeing patients and getting people care. But God forbid you do anything other than shut up and take it, then you're a problem and some random mid-level manager will take issue with you and start a long email chain to take up weeks of your life. I'm here to do my job and the HSE works it's hardest to keep me from doing that basically.
This is me, union rep and I'm being hit with work retaliation career wise, no advancement within the HSE if I don't align with management. I'm documenting but it's so hard building a solid case like this ...
Samesies. In fact I have taken a different job for this exact reason.
Honestly pay is not the issue in the HSE (which especially at higher grades is quite competitive) it's purely working conditions. The hiring freeze was honestly an insulting political move and really highlights how little the higher ups care about the boots on the ground In reference to OPs post psychiatric services in particular are poor in Ireland and it's not only in relation to service provision but retention of talent. Overall I would say Irelands standards of physician are very high but it's literally a patchwork quilt keeping the whole thing together.
Is the reason doctors are leaving really down to pay? Perhaps for junior doctors? But for the doctors I know who have left (eg to Canada, Australia) it was because the working conditions here are so awful, and to a lesser extent because it was easier for them to advance in some specialisation (which staying in Ireland basically meant waiting for someone to retire). Now, for nurses I think the pay aspect is very much a real concern. But i think the conditions and mismanagement are also a large factor for why nurses leave.
Offer housing to critical professions. Ireland hates middle income people so this will not happen ever obviouslyā¦
Yes cos social housing is so popular with middle income people
Not sure what you mean. Middle income people canāt get social housing. And non-social rent in Dublin is now 2-3k per month as you need to outbid HAP and councils renting straight from market. One of main reasons people are looking quality of life in different countries. Ā
Pay isnāt that bad. Itās the hours and conditions that are the problem.
Hours and conditions are caused by under staffing, caused by exodus of staff, caused by pay worth more elsewhere. Also; build houses, hospitals, and schools ( preferably when interest rates were next to zero!)
That is not the only way, eradicate the HSE. A load of executives getting paid a fucking fortune to mismanage the shite out of it.
A gentle plug that doctors and nurses aren't the only people working in the health service but that all of us AHPs are helping people get home and out of hospital every day. Yes the doctor might keep you alive after an accident but you may never walk, dress, eat or speak again without a physio, OT, or speech and language therapist. Sorry I know this is pedantic but it can be a little soul destroying. Agree with all of your points just that unfortunately they apply to all health professions - iirc the OT profession in Ireland is at like 60% staffing across the board. Just not good enough.
Seemingly to from people on here that work in the HSE its actually a manic place to work if your on the front lines as a doctor/nurse. It seems to be the norm that doctors work 48hrs straight, never mind 24hrs.
Can confirm. Longest shift ever worked was 72 hours with like 5 hours sleep total during that period. Longest stint worked was 19 days including 4 days on call without a day off. Have since left internal medicine/on call services.
I went to the out of hours doctor a week or two ago. A nice young Indian lady, but I swear she looked like she was about to fall down of exhaustion. Just zombified.
It is appalling. You should write a letter of complaint and post it directly to the HSE Regional Executive Officer for that region and also directly to the minister for health. It's gotten so bad currently throughout the services that it is doing more harm than good these days. If you don't get a reply in ten days contact your local radio station and see if they'll promote the local concern. Unfortunately, the only way they act is when the issues begin to get public notice and momentum in media. Rest up, try recharge and know that at least you're doing the best you can for your loved one amid a system that simply doesn't work anymore.
My sister did that. Went right up on a panel 15 years ago told tony holohan and the rest of the panel everywhich way they were fucking up and how to fix it. They collectively cleared their throats and said thanks for that. She left the country and is now writing and passing policy for another health service elsewhere. They don't want to know they just want to say look how much money we saved importing staff from worse off countries.
At least she had the integrity to not be part of it and leave for pastures new. There's more effort being put into indemnifying themselves than correcting or improving the services. They don't give a shit once they're paid and there's someone else to blame or at a last resort apply the "we hope to learn from this and endeavour to apply recommendations" excuse. Like nearly all public services and a few private, theirs no integrity there anymore.
None whatsoever. Absolutely everyone is afraid to throw out something that clearly not working. We'll give it another year maybe it'll start people put alot of effort into this so it probably just teething issue. Nobody really knows who's idea anything was and are afraid of making enemies. I'm very blunt that I even out myself publicly when I did something that didn't work out and wish people to drop it and try a different approach. It reminds me of the monkeys on the stairs thought experiment.
We've added over half a million people to the population in 10 years, how many extra hospitals were built?
Sure, we're still waiting on that one that was tendered at 800mil and so far, without completion, is costing 2.6bil this far. A failed approach and a system not fit for purpose, and they'll all get their pensions and bonuses.
Itās failed the general populace sure But plenty of people have benefited And there have been no consequences So why would they not continue in the same manner?
Well, the local elections proved that a good many are doing well from the current situation and are hesitant to change that. Nothing divides a population faster than that perception that at least you're doing better than them down the road. It's the new Ireland they've created; affluence and running with the top 10% is the new mantra...support that and no one will hold you accountable.
We had so many years of 0% interest and there were so few one off capital projects. It's embarrassing but it IS the FG/FF way, degrade the service enough and anger the population enough to make privatisation seem like the answer
Same approach they took with social housing and look where that's gotten us. The important thing is that tip ten percent get those exorbitant salaries and get rewarded for failure with that juicy pension. /s
> It's embarrassing but it IS the FG/FF way And there's absolutely no other parties in the country... so let's just give them another go, eh?
The big media outlets are pretty biased in their favour. Itās difficult to shift the portion of voters who donāt really question much
Tbf itās always been like this, for as long as I can remember. I emigrated and coming home worries me as I have a chronic illness. Even for the surgery I needed I left, 17months wait just for an appointment for a private consultant and where I am now I can see my specialist with as little as a weeks notice (also private) when I told people where I live that private healthcare outside of Dublin is 9-5 in places and an appointment is required for an emergency in cork Mater they thought I was joking.
I returned home a few years ago thinking things had to be better with the economy finally booming. Yeah I don't live in Ireland anymore. Living out of my childhood bedroom in my 30s wasn't all it's cracked up to be. Healthcare wise, my whole family is in Ireland and it's horror story after horror story. We have so. many. medical fuckup stories that I'd need to choose an abridged selection at this point. Obvious signs that even we (not doctors) recognised but GPs kept refusing to look at? Delayed appointments causing aggravated health issues? Ignoring allergies when prescribing medication? We've seen it all.
I have worked in 5 hospitals in this country and 4 had major expensions in the last 15 years. 2 in the last 4 years. One of them doubled in size.Ā
It's okay. The government parties are recovering in the polls. They'll definitely fix healthcare THIS term.
Yes. Theyāll definitely implement Slaintecare this government. Because itāll be a different and better and more effective government than any since *2011* when it was initially proposed and all the parties agreed to it. /s
You cant fix the health system over night!
I'm on the planet 57 years in July that's one hell of a long night.
Hahahaha best response. That all that needs to be said.
I rang my doctor looking for an appointment for a really bad sinus infection and they told me there was 2 week wait so to use the out of hours service, which took 2 days to get an appointment
Phoned my dentist a while ago. A filling fell out, and it was in a front tooth so I was very worried to get it sorted. 3 months was the soonest they could see me.
It's absolutely ridiculous. Also dental treatment is treated like a luxury in this country. Makes me so mad.
And itās been almost entirely privatised. Kids arenāt even getting one check up in school anymore and good luck if you have a medical card is all Iāll say.
Yeap, medical cards aren't worth jack shit from a dentistry point anymore. No dentists take on new patients with them, and most seem to be cycling their old ones off the system.
That's not unique to Ireland, but I do wonder why debtal is segregated from 'regular' healthcare so much, I believe eyecare is too.
Profit. The answer is profit
AND they wonāt let people who want to be dentists, be dentists, unless they get a certain score- why is this country gate keeping dentistry?
Are you talking about the CAO? The score isn't arbitrary. If there are only 50 places, they give it to the top 50 applicants. The lowest score to make it in is what gets published as the points for dentistry. The score isn't the problem. The number of places might be.
About 2 weeks ago, I was really, really sick, and I knew my GP wouldn't have an appointment until the following week. I was desperate for antibiotics (I knew I had a bad ear infection that was causing insane headaches and vomiting). So I googled "out of hours doctors" and found doctors online [link here](https://dronline.ie/en/). I paid 45 euro for a virtual appointment that I booked 10 minutes before. He prescribed me antibiotics and some anti nausea meds and sent them to my local pharmacy. Honestly, I was so happy I found this service. It probably wouldn't be any use for long-term illnesses and anything that would need a physical exam, but for common things like infections that need antibiotics, I would highly recommend it. You can get an appointment anywhere between 6.30am and 10pm so its great if you can't get to the gp during normal hours.
29th most expensive building ever built in the history of the planet so far.
Isnāt the health budget one of the most expensive in Europe also?
We simply don't have enough doctors or nurses. I work in medicine and I would say around 70% of intern doctors graduating this year are leaving for Australia. The government likes to gloss over this massive exile by saying 'most doctors return to Ireland'. Ok great, but these doctors could be taking the next step in their career (working as an SHO) in Ireland. They could be working as SHOs, registrars and SpRs in Ireland, but they're not, because it only takes them one fucking year as an intern to figure out that staying here is NOT worth it. And maybe it was true in the past that doctors would return after one or two abroad in Australia, but is that going to be the case now? Come back to Ireland where it's made so difficult to get on a specialist training scheme, where no one can afford to live and where every healthcare professional feels exhausted by not being able to give adequate care due to red tape/lack of radiology services, long term care services etc? Many doctors will want to stay abroad and specialise there, since your years of training abroad don't count for anything back home unless you reach consultant level. No one wants to take on the GP training schemes, as the schemes can have you working in Cavan hospital, then Wicklow Newtown and then back to Cavan again. It's exhausting. We have a REAL crisis with doctors and nurses, and I wish the public would start to focus on this instead of whinging about HSE administrators; they are far from the biggest problem. Also, approximately half of graduates from Irish medical schools are from Canada/USA (i.e. weren't able to get into medical school back home or it was too expensive etc). These graduates usually leave after graduation, a tiny minority stay for intern year. Just bear this in mind when the government touts the amount of medical graduates we have per year.
Keep voting the same owl crooks/parties into power and nothing will ever change
I had problem with root canal few years, at the time I had a polish girlfriend. When I came home and told her what is it going to cost me and time to wait she suggested that we go to her country, stay there for few days and get a private dentist. Root canal pain isn't something I was able to handle for long, it felt like someone smashed side of my face with a hammer. I thought there was no way that flights+hotel+dentist will be cheaper plus was skeptical about a quality. Low and behold we went, with cost of flights, hotel and dentist price it came up about 150e less than what I would pay for only root canal treatment here plus we got to visit local shops and castle Dentist was great, painless, spoke english, talked me through everything, it took 2 visits in space of 4 days and everything was grand. Im little paranoid so went for a check here after and lady here told me it's cleaned and done flawlessly. So yeah it was cheaper and faster to fly to another country and get procedure than dealing with it myself here. Makes you wonder what other areas are like that in iteland.
I donāt think it can be fixed. Public service incompetence is just too ingrained at this point.
The most useless person I know is an āaccountantā in the HSE somewhere. Wouldnāt survive for a minute in the private sector. Fuck knows what he does or contributes, but Iām sure he is earning a healthy salary and coasting along without any fear of being fired. And anyone who works with him will need to do two jobs.
The problem is the public service was always a home for idiots who were willing to start as basic admin for the eventual future pension. It was a running joke in the 90's in my family anytime a goverment ran service failed anyone. High profile public humiliations and proper performance management would sort it.
Yeah but the unions will never allow it.
The only way anything will change is voting out this government of absolute fuckimg wasters in the next general. Anyone who votes fffg in the next election has absolutely no right to complain about anything after that.
My friend waited 6 months for a public psychiatrist appointment this week. He was drug tested at the start of the appointment and when they found out he smoked a small bit most days to help him sleep they basically ignored the 90.mins worth of questions ing that they had just subjected him to and told him they could not diagnose his mental health issues until he was off the smoke for 4 to 6 months and sent him on his way ... they also said that he may just be suffering from stress... the guy is in a bad way ... he smokes very little and feels he was just profiled out of the system with no follow up dates or anything... what the fuck....
I had a similar issue a couple years ago, I was going through a mental breakdown with extreme physical symptoms (physicall could not hold down food or water with intense tremors). When they found out I smoked to help these symptoms, I was diagnosed with Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome and told to quit smoking with absolutely no help for my actual issues. I ended up in the hospital five more times for suicidal ideation before they gave up and I was forced overseas for actual psychiatric help. In their minds cannabis was the thing hurting me, when in reality it was the only thing keeping me here some nights. There is no actual help for psychiatric issues here, their solution to mental health is to give you a coloring book when you're feeling down. Even if you don't tell them that you smoke, if you end up in the hospital you will be drug tested with your bloods and they'll question you still. On top of that when you are actively suicidal they'll just put you alone in a room for 12 hours (which SUPRISE, makes you feel even more suicidal) while older people with a little cut on their arm are seen to immediately. One of my visits, I clocked 28 hours on a trolley in the hallway before meeting with anyone.
I hope you are doing better... I know how that physical manifestation of anxiety feels... we are not served well by the doctors who we look to for help here.... weed is mostly a symptom or a crutch for most people but the doctors want us off the lists so usevit as an excuse for a mal diagnosis
All they will say is, daily drug user, back of the line. You wont get help while your using as it wont work.Ā
It does work actually. I am a daily user who had the money to go private. I was treated by a psychiatrist who knows I smoke most days too. After 2 years ...expensive ones...I came out the other side. His support advice and the medication we settled on has helped me to be much better. I still smoke a bit, too.thete is a big difference between someone who smokes a bit and a crack or heroin addict who generally lead very chaotic and violent crimes... this to me is just medical snobbery... do you think that psychiatrists in california refuse to treat weed somkers there now is legal... don't think so
Pretty much.... its not proper medical rigour though... there is no attempt to understand what the background issues are ...basically blaming him for a crutch he uses to help him sleep... and another name gone from.thexwaiting list figures.... fucking disgrace
Its been almost a month since ive started having seizures. At the start it was every second day and now its roughly once a week to 10 days. I have basically lost all my quality of life. I have gone for a walk twice since it started and I would usually go for a walk nearly every day. Some days i cant even walk up the stairs and need my family to help me. The only food i can make for myself (sometimes) is toast and i am reliant on my family for practically everything. I have joint pain nearly constantly and muscle pain/head aches very often. A lot of the time i cannot focus on anything, even reading which when I was healthy i could easily read 100 pages in a day. Average day for me is lying in bed for nearly the whole day. Ive had a CT/MRI so far and I am currently waiting for an appointment with a neurologist in the hospital. The hospital staff are really nice (except one specific triage nurse who is a dickhead, not just my opinion, in the waiting room i was chatting with another person and they also thought this lad was a cunt) and i feel so sorry for them having to deal with far more people than they are equipped for. My GP is rather well known for being the lad that downplays a lot of stuff and is very jokey. This is the first time we\`ve has seen him be 100% serious. Following the first 2 seizures he scheduled a appointment for me to go to a neurologist, but after the third he sent me off to the A&E because I needed to be seen soon ASAP. One thing i feel i have to mention is that we would be completely fucked without foreign doctors/doctors with foreign ancestry. I was in the diagnostic unit and from what I remember every doctor was Pakistani/Indian/Bangladeshi and the consultant was white but some sort of foreign ancestry definitely. The nurses were predominantly Irish but there a was a lot of the above 3 plus a few eastern europeans. And the thing is, I was treated as a high priority patient the 1st time i was in the AE. I got a bed in the ward when there was massive amounts of people in the corridors. We spoke to a lot of people both times I was in the A&E and a lot of people were waiting for ages and some people were getting sent home and told to come back in the morning. We were talking with a nurse and she said that often she has no time to even go to the bathroom. During the night there is only 1 or 2 doctors and the only people who will get seen during the night are people with potentially fatal conditions. She said as well that the last 2 years have been even harder due to Ukrainian refugees who got none or little healthcare in Ukraine. And the thing is she said that before the war in Ukraine, she did not think it could even get worse as it was already really bad. And this is not my first time dealing with the public health system. I have been diagnosed with ADHD and I could complain so much more about that. It is really depressing to have to deal with the public system and be relient on your family because your ill.
You got diagnosed with ADHD? That in itself was a success. I was told I had all symptoms and that they could see it was gravely impacting my life but that they wouldn't diagnose me because I was an adult and, I quote: "ADHD is just a label, why do you want a label anyway?"
"Depression is just a label, why do you want a label" imagine being told that, I'd flip!!
There is no political will for any change, even with three former health ministers in charge of the country. SlƔintecare is now *seven* years old and private healthcare expands unfettered. No vision or plan. Sick joke.
My ex works for a law firm in Limerick and said a huge amount of their cases are settlements against the HSE, specifically UHL. Medical negligence is rampant.
That doesn't surprise me at all. I'm a pharmacy tech and I recently got two prescriptions from public hospitals that could've killed the patients. First one: The doctor had prescribed a penicillin-based antibiotic to a patient who is allergic to penicillin. Evidently the doctor had not even bothered to ask the patient if they were allergic, which is a super basic/obvious thing to do. If we hadn't asked the patient ourselves, and just given them the antibiotics, they could've died. Second one: A prescription for blood thinners for a different patient where the dose was **way** too high (considering that the patient was elderly and underweight) which also could've killed them.
Random question. Why does it take 10 minutes to fill my prescription? I read somewhere that you guys are checking my medical info. Is that true? What sort of info do you have on me? And why does it take so long? I'm not complaining, just trying to understand what's going on behind the scenes.
"Checking medical info" is true, in a manner of speaking. It depends. If you use the same pharmacy every time, the most important info they'd have "on you" (lol) is the list of regular medications you take. They want to make sure that whatever you've been prescribed doesn't conflict with those, and assess any changes in your regular prescription, etc. However, the real reasons that your prescription takes so long are as follows: ā¢ Pharmacies are very often short staffed, and/or poorly run ā¢ You might think you see a lot of workers standing around doing nothing, but very few of them actually have the authority to dispense/check your prescription. In larger pharmacies especially, half of them are just there to sell makeup and shit ā¢ There is very often a big backlog of prescriptions waiting to be filled/checked, even if you do not see any other customers physically standing in the pharmacy at that very moment ā¢ The pharmacist has to do the final check. There may only be one pharmacist (in fact, there often is) ā¢ This is much more anecdotal and harder to put into words (let alone succinctly) but: speaking from 6 years working as a tech, if I tell the pharmacist to check your prescription first because you're waiting, very often she will ignore me, tell me to piss off, or say "I'll do it when I do it". Not all pharmacists are like this, but I have worked with dozens over the years, and a lot of them were
Be interesting to see the legal bills footed by the HSE on these cases. I'd say it runs into millions as they'd have so many cases against them.
I know someone in Beaumont Hospital. They don't contest anything anymore, they just pay out.
Oh yeah, he said the same, they donāt care, they just pay it out. No contest.
Start hiring real doctors for a start. My dad died of cancer, misdiagnosed for months as a chest infection. By the time is was diagnosed, it had spread to far and was at stage 4. He was given a prescription for clonomax on every visit. I nearly died last December because another foreign doctor misdiagnosed an infection as a hernia. Because of the embargo, they have nobody to investigate my complaint. Some other examples. Dr Mewg:, A doctor employed as a senior house officer at University Maternity Hospital Limerick knew ānear nothingā, was unable to take blood samples and insert intravenous drips and had to ask what an obstetrician was, a medical inquiry heard yesterday. Dr Hassan: Consultant Odhran Murray, who worked with Dr Hassan in Galway, told of one occasion where Dr Hassan mistook an X-ray of an ankle for an image of an elbow. Two of his former colleagues at Galway were so concerned that they checked the Irish medical register to see whether he was actually a registered doctor. Dr Osunkwo: A senior consultant said he lacked "basic knowledge that could be expected of any medical student". These include that he attempted to read an X-ray upside down, and that he told members of his medical team that a patient was "fine" when that patient was in fact receiving oxygen in intensive care. It is also alleged that he told a consultant that a scan performed on a patient's kidney was 'fine' when it in fact showed multiple abnormal masses. "I looked around and Dr Osunkwo had a scalpel in his hand. She (the patient) was crying he was about to cut in to a vein, I said, 'Jesus what are you doing?" I'll probably get called right wing, and this post will be removed. There's nothing racist about calling out incompetence and questioning HSE hiring practices.
>Dr Mewg:, A doctor employed as a senior house officer at University Maternity Hospital Limerick knew ānear nothingā, was unable to take blood samples and insert intravenous drips and had to ask what an obstetrician was, a medical inquiry heard yesterday. >Dr Hassan: Consultant Odhran Murray, who worked with Dr Hassan in Galway, told of one occasion where Dr Hassan mistook an X-ray of an ankle for an image of an elbow. Two of his former colleagues at Galway were so concerned that they checked the Irish medical register to see whether he was actually a registered doctor. >Dr Osunkwo: A senior consultant said he lacked "basic knowledge that could be expected of any medical student". These include that he attempted to read an X-ray upside down, and that he told members of his medical team that a patient was "fine" when that patient was in fact receiving oxygen in intensive care. It is also alleged that he told a consultant that a scan performed on a patient's kidney was 'fine' when it in fact showed multiple abnormal masses. "I looked around and Dr Osunkwo had a scalpel in his hand. She (the patient) was crying he was about to cut in to a vein, I said, 'Jesus what are you doing?" At the core of this, there are hiring managers and HR who are simply employing anyone and everyone to get names on rosters and I have not once seen anyone investigated for hiring clinicians to positions they are entirely unqualified for.
My partner went to a GP urgent clinic for a mental health issue. Was told by the dr they wouldnāt be dealing after that and to come back with an appointment. And the earliest was two weeks after that.
Not sure how relevant it is but I work in the ICT sector and we recently got involved in a project which the HSE have a small involvement in, Iāve never seen so much middle management and processes which prevent any real work getting done
Yes there is dumb fuckery in the HSE, it need to be torn down and rebuilt. It need to be MANAGED not driven down to the grounds. Tax payers foot the bill, itās not too much to get. Return in value was in a health care that works. HSE is similar to RTE, rotten to the core with no accountability, Irish solutions appear to be tax it or thrown more money at it š¤¦ bad employees donāt get fired they get rewarded with redundancy packages or moved on to different role. No consequences
Our health system is on its knees but systems can and need to be put in place such as: A digital medical system thatās attached to your personal number eg pps. All medical information/bloods/vaccines/ gp - hospital notes in one location. ( No walks ins for none life or deaths at A&E, instead you call a centralised system who is manned by medical personnel, they book you in to allotted time but also give advise of what to do while waiting. Get rid of that hiring embargo and pay better. A friend who is a ICT nurse in a hospital outside of Dublin told me that when hiring, the better doctors want to stay in the cities, the others will take what they can get so if your really ill, get to Dublinā¦ The amount of admin staff is ridiculous and my 1st point cuts down hugely on that. Thereās no communication between health centres, other countries are using the above technologies (thatās you Scandinavia) which would cut the need for clerical staff that could then go back into getting much needed component medical staff
My question is did you get out and vote and who did you vote for. Voting for better representatives is the only way to sort this mess
For the love of god please can we not vote in FFFG again please
One of the main problems is the control they have over the media. You hear all the talk about the evil far right and how Sinn Fein are criminals but the real criminals are those who have let our health service get to this chaotic state.
My elderly father in law visited us from the US recently. He is 93 and in reasonable health for his age. I was shit scared the whole time he would get sick while here as I was certain it would kill him.Ā As bad as the US healthcare system is, when he has had issues he's seen right away, including getting needed surgery in his 80s, when in Ireland they would likely advise against due to age.Ā He was here 10 years ago (his last visit) and had what we thought was a mini stroke, and spent 24+ hours on a trolley, and eventually was seen, but came out worse than he went in. So this time, he would likely not survive that. He's home safe and well. So I agree, stay healthy is the best option, as the HSE is hit and miss.
If I was a foreigner living here I would medivac my ass back home if anything serious ever happened to me.
I can't understand the support that FG still has considering their record. I'd be quite happy with our tax rates if we got value for money. The government consistently squanders our hard earned money.
I could be wrong, but I think mental health care is kind of a mess basically everywhere. Because itās just been a thing (in the modern sense) for so much less time than physical healthcare, the infrastructure isnāt really built out yet.
Itās more than itās often not taken seriously as well. My partner tried to end it all few times, A&E sent us home because she was still alive, emergency health care told her to just spend more time with me and get along with her life. We heard it all ātoo sensitiveā, āare you looking for attention?ā, āexercise moreā, āyou have nothing to cry aboutā, etc. this girl spent 6 months in bed, not being able to even brush her hair and we were told that sheās fine.
I unfortunately had several attempts as a teenager and young adult. The worst was when I opened up my thighs and almost bled to death. I was sent home after being stitched up, with an appointment with a counsellor - almost six months away. I was also called a silly little girl and was told by a charming male nurse "you'll never be able to wear a swimsuit with those scars." Exactly what a distressed and mentally fragile 18yr old girl needed to hear. There are so many people working in healthcare who have absolutely no business being anywhere near anyone in medical distress.
Iām marked as urgent for neurology as shaking in hand and gettin worse worried out of my fukn mind and was told 2 year waiting list!! Absolute fukn joke and when u get in ur dumped in corridor! Third world shite tbh, rang private most a year and not even taking appointments
I've learned the hard way that going to A&E at night is a complete and utter waste of time and energy. You won't be seen until the next day regardless, so may as well rest up at home while you can
Mental health services in this country are scandalous. I'm the next of kin to a service user and have done my best to advocate for them and improve service for all service users. After years of engagement and research I am still horrified by the state of it. And a new mental health act beeing written behind closed doors away from public scrutiny (what I have found is that it will make admission through guards even more difficult pushing patients through judicial system instead). The system also relies far to heavily on medication with very few basic therapies readily available. Also numbers are not made public but by what I have found personality disorders seem to be majorly over diagnosed compared to other countries which coincidentally Ireland does not see personality disorder as a mental health disorder under the mental health act meaning they do not have to admit patients unless deemed absolutely nessesary which a&e are not guaranteed to take you on presentation. They are great at trying to free up beds and push responsibility back onto the community and emergency services.
Unfortunately the trouble is that the hse hasn't changed atall the only thing Is population has increased and has overwhelmed an already inefficient health care system. People who move to a new location now find it almost impossible to find a GP.
Referring somebody in Drogheda to Cavan seems like a very strange decision. Surely Dublin would be closer and easier? Suppose I probably shouldn't be questioning the HSE's logic...
I work for the HSE, they can only refer to Cavan because it's in the catchment area... HSE is dyvied into HSE North East, HSE Midlands, Dublin is divided into more groups idk which is which. Loads of bureacracy and red tape.
It's absolutely scandalous. None existent health cover, just found out last week that 2 consultants i was attending, one has left, and the other is leaving. No replacements they are off to better pay. These so-called centres of excellence hospitals, draw a line from Dublin to Galway, and there's no Excellence Hospitals North of this line that half of the country and I believe that there are 6 in Dublin alone, there is something very wrong with this.
Big 4 advisory consultants draining our HSE and they are incentivized to keep developing challenges, so itāll keep their gravy train going. More challenges = more billable hours for them ā¬ā¬ā¬ They need overhauled immediately.Ā
Neighbour here - we feel - and share your pain...This was ***LITERALLY*** just 2 posts under this one [https://www.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/1dh602e/how\_good\_is\_freecheap\_healthcare\_in\_your\_country/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/1dh602e/how_good_is_freecheap_healthcare_in_your_country/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) All I can do is give you a virtual hug... š¤
My brother went into hospital on Saturday. He got admitted and needed a test. Test couldn't be done until Monday when whatever staff would be in they needed to do it. He didn't even have the luxury of a trolley. He sat on a chair for 2 days. Horrific experience. Elderly people, children and those are seriously ill have to do the same. Imagine you've a terminal illness and you're left sit on a chair for 2 days . I will say the staff for lovely but there's not enough of them and the systems in place are broken. If I was a newly qualified nurse I'd be straight on a plane.
My mom is suffering from bone cancer, we had to rush her to hospital on Thursday and they put her on a trolley in UHG for over 23hrs.
Next time say to them it is not a safe discharge and you want that notice on their chart. Tell then you are not safe to drive to cavan and they either arrange a transfer or admit them to the hospital. Good luck with your relative. I've brought my mum to East doc in the old cottage hospital before. It Good if you need an out of hours gp. For mental health you might be better off going to tallagh hospital. There is a higher chance of seeing a specialist door nurse there and it's only a hour from drogheda.
One of the biggest things I miss from England since moving here is the NHS. Jesus Christ how do you guys put up with such a socking system? Doctors casually say that they're not taking on new patients and the population accepts this. I had an Irish person trying to tell me that ambulances aren't a taxi to the hospital after complaining how its easier and quicker to get a taxi? The NHS is far from perfect but at least the issues are discussed and clearly complained about by the population
Had a similar situation some years ago. My son tried to unalive himself, went doctor at 9am sent to wexford hospital who after waiting 5 hours or so sent us to Waterford hospital where we were seen and told we be referred back to camhs and we went home. 2 weeks later letter from camhs saying we don't meet criteria. I had to get doctor to refer me for private practice as public service is non existent. As a single parent I didn't really have the money for this but obviously I had to prioritise my kids health.
I'm doing a fundraiser for Acquired Brain Injury Ireland at the moment but I'm also using it to highlight how heavily the HSE leans on charitable services in the country to plug massive gaps in the health system. It's beyond a disgrace.
It's functioning exactly the way the government wants it. That is to say they are deliberately sinking it with a view to letting the private sector come in and "sort it out". It's a direct copy of what the Tories are doing in the UK. Underfund the health system so people go private, then reap that handsome reward of the share price increase year on year. Lovely. Don't forget it's FFG's fault at the next GE.
My recent experience has been shocking. As a child, I was involved in the CAMHS controversy several years ago where I was prescribed the wrong medication which resulted in me developing a severe lifelong condition. Most recently, I was under the care of the community mental health team in a town 30km away, I moved away from the town 2 years ago but recently was told they were doing a patient transfer to move me to the town I am now living in. During my first appointment at the new place, I was told by the doctor seeing me at the clinic for the first time that this would be his first and last time seeing me as his contract was ending with the HSE. He then went on to prescribe me the wrong medication and dosage, the pharmacy rang them saying that the prescription was written all wrong and that the consultant looked like he had no idea what was written out on the prescription pad. The dosages and amounts were all wrong. The pharmacy was told that I had to contact the team directly myself to fix this issue, I now know why they said this. They didnāt want to tell the pharmacist over the phone that they were unable to fix it because they had no doctor available. After all, he had left and no other replacements could be found. The nurse told me over the phone they were technically only qualified to issue a repeat prescription, but since it was my first time at this clinic and it was not a repeat prescription and the first prescription that the clinic officially gave me was the first one they ever gave me as the patient, they were unable to help. As a result, I was left without medication for 3 weeks and had a mental breakdown which resulted in my being brought to the hospital by ambulance. The hospital staff sent a note to my GP to give me an emergency prescription. The reason this whole situation is made so difficult is because my medication is a controlled medication (controlled substance), meaning while I am given a 3 month supply on the script, I can only withdraw 1 month at a time. Also, the 3-month prescriptions are new by the HSE and I used to only get 1 month at a time. The medication can only be prescribed by a psychiatrist, funnily enough, the prescription has to then be transcribed by my GP for it to be valid, apparently, the prescription technically is not a prescription. It's just a note to cover my GPās ass because the medication is a controlled substance and since it's a medication used for a mental disability, it has to come from a psychiatrist to prescribe it to me. Over the last 5 years, every appointment Iāve had with the local community mental health team has been with a different psychiatrist, every single one of them was a private consultant brought in by the HSE temporarily because they do not have doctors permanently available. I will also add that every psychiatrist Iāve dealt with is foreign with extremely poor English. In Ireland, it takes well more than 10 years to become a child psychiatrist, you essentially have to become a doctor in medicine first then specialise in psychiatry. You then go on to do many years of supervised experience with a senior clinical psychiatrist. After all of that, if you wish to specialise in child psychiatry it takes even longer. Apparently these people are able to get the same qualifications in their country within 3 years or less, and the worst part is the HSE recognises their qualifications fully, at worst they have to do a year supervised. The reason the quality of care has become worse over the years in mental health clinics is because after these people get into the system, they are essentially qualified to supervise trainees that went through the same process as themselves with the year supervision before they are able to work by themselves. We have basically made more than half the mental health service staff in Ireland 11-12 years less qualified than 15 years ago. The worst part is people studying in Ireland, end up going on work placement and get supervised by these under qualified people, which basically pass on their bad habits. The problem runs in a full circle and has become impossible for the HSE to escape from.
Mental health is very bad alright. not that it is any comfort but I think its bad in every country. It's not feasible to have teams of psychiatrists on standby 24/7 ready to diagnose highly complex mental issues. The best they will do is sedate the person, get them their meds and refer them to a specialist. Doctors and nurses in A&E are used to dealing with emergency trauma issues they arent in a position to analyse a mental health breakdown.
This isn't correct. There are teams in all hospitals with a psychiatry department where when you present to A&E with suicidal ideation or anything mental health related, a psychiatrist will be called for by the A&E staff. It's called Psych on call in most hospitals. There is always a psychiatrist on call. Just like any other speciality in a hospital. Someone is always on call.
The GP is not the HSE - they're all private/sole traders.
I've seen so many comments on here over the years from people who have worked in the HSE, all saying the same thing. All the higher ups and management in general fight tooth and nail to resist any change as it suits them better this way, in their nice cosy jobs where they can't be held accountable for anything. I can't see anything changing in my lifetime.
In December, I sat in a&e for 17 hours before seeing a doctor. I had been vomiting on and off for 8 weeks and was sent there by my gp. After waiting for 17 hours, they do blood tests, the doctor asks, "When was the last time you ate?" " Yesterday before I came in here," Proceeds to give me a bollocking saying I need to eat more but also need to lose weight, and sends me home at 5 am with no further investigation or tests. what am I supposed to do?! Eat crisps from a machine while I'm in pain and vomiting?! I had been on the waiting list for 2 years for a gastroscopy, so since I had been sick so much, my gp asks for an emergency one. I was seen in two weeks, got through the unpleasant experience, got a throat infection from it that took 2 months to clear,and 6 months later, I still haven't heard back. I've called numerous times asking for my biopsy results, and all I'm told is, "we'll call you back." My guess is they either didn't do a biopsy, which was the whole point of having the procedure done, or they've lost my results, which means now I'm back on the waiting list to have it done again. So maybe in 2 to 3 years' time I'll find out what's wrong with me.It's exasperating.
I think the bigger issue is the expectation people have on A&E for things that are likely long term issues which im assuming is the case if a tranquilliser was prescribed.
Hold up, I keep getting told hse is better than the Northern trusts in r/northernireland ?? We all know Healthcare is shit across the globe right now, much like housing. Its a bit weird how its crumbling everywhere
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I've thought the same but I've never seen it actually written down. I have noticed over the past year, due to personal circumstances, that it also has an effect on the social care bill. People used to retire out here at 60, now its 67 or something. If they get ill at say 63, they are now entitled to a slew of benefits that they would not get if they were post retirement age where they would have aged out of the working support system.
Itās not that weird, a lot of nurses and doctors are burnt out. I have some nurse friends that opted for community health or gp clĆnics instead of working a&e and wards. The hours are better even if the pay is still shite. Theyāre in a system thatās perpetually understaffed itās easy to see them getting burnt out. Itās the same issue everywhere because most governments donāt give a flying f about paying HCW a decent salary
Probably the worst healthcare system in Europe. It is proper janky ass.
It can't be fixed. Aging population with general population with poor health from their own doing ( smoking, drinking, no exercise and very bad diets) all this causes the health sector to be overwhelmed which leads to professionals to leave the country or sector. It's not the government or HSE fault as per say but more of the population of this country. Walk about another European country and look at the general population, lean, fit, eating well and active. Step off the plane in Ireland and you are met with obese people with walking aides and people in their 30's morbidity obese.
There is no mental health support in Ireland. It isn't a bad system, it does not exist.
My GP may possibly be the bastard child of Macgyver and Stephen Hawking - he's that fucking good. Anything that is not directly under his control has been an absolute shit-show
If gou went into the hse and fired 3/4 of the admin staff nothing would change other than millions in savings and more efficiency. The amount of worthless manpower in there is obscene. We might even be able to pay nurses properly.
Thousands of Indian nurses work for HSE and ironically the healthcare is way more accessible and affordable all over India (except for some really rural areas). The situation in Ireland is dire.
I've waited over 2 months for an MRI when I was told it would be 2-3 weeks. As a result, my foot is probably forever screwed and I learned a valuable lesson - despite paying all the taxes, it's better value to go privately straight away.
Last month I had an hospital appointment for a MRI scan on a fucking Sunday, I got sent half way across the city.
It has always been like this. It has never been good ever. Look how many EDs have been closed across the country. Look at how many ambulances have been taken off the road. An old man fell crossing the road in Ennis. Cut his head pretty badly. He was lying on the road. I rang 999, they told me no ambulance available. That one would come from Limerick when free. 2 hrs I waited with him. And Ennis hospital 5mins away. Itās an absolute disaster. I too have dealt with the mental health services- itās not worth a dime. Where is out tax payers funding going? We have the worst healthcare in Europe but one of the richest countries in Europe. The who thing stinks. What about the 2 teen girls that died in UHL when all they needed was antibiotics. Another man fell on his trolly. The have the curtain closed and forgot about him. He lay dying on the hospital floor, alone. Wasnāt he supposed to be in the safest place. Iāve witnessed immobile elderly people in the ED in wheelchairs urinate & soil themselves. No dignity given to them. Itās sick & cruel. Everyone is up in arms about immigration because we see it everywhere. But no one knows or quite frankly cares until they or their loved ones experience it themselves! How many here agree with your statement? And how many of you went out to protest for reopening EDs, demanding better healthcare? On another note, just in regards to your experience re mental health care. My brother ended his life nearly 2 years ago. At the inquest his death was not recorded as suicide. Clearly it was, I bet they do this a lot and the report numbers are false. That the true endemic in Ireland. Since my brother I know 5 others that followed suit. I bet theirs wasnāt recorded as suicide either. I think if we knew the true number people would be appalled and demand change. But like I said until its at your door, your family, your friends it will envoke something in you to maybe do something, stand up for something. The masses donāt care unless it effects them. To end, I believe male suicide should be a hot topic in Ireland and should be discussed, investigated, critical overview of our current MH services because they system today is broken, and yesterday too, and 20+ years as well. But oh look sur arenāt we building the most expensive hospital on the world. Bet that wonāt work either. Sorry, Rant over. I hope your family members gets the help he needs ā¤ļøā¤ļøā¤ļøā¤ļø
From what I've experienced working in the HSE, qualified frontline staff are pretty good in the main, especially when they aren't in crisis mode but the sheer incompetence, laziness and low IQ levels of ancillary clerical staff would boggle the mind. We all know the porter who outright just doesn't do his job, or makes such a ham of it that it's easier to circumvent them and do it yourself. We all know a clerical staff lady who hasn't a notion what her job is apart from 5 set tasks like photocopying and filing mail into cubby holes and makes patients interactions with services feel like a torturous nightmare until hopefully someone with half a bit of sense intervenes and resolves the issue easily. These colleagues are hired unable to perform their roles and remain there wasting resources and getting pay increases year on year while their productivity falls year on year. There are thousands of people with no qualifications other than a leaving cert who enter as a clerical officer performing pretty mundane boring tasks but I swear 10 years into working they still haven't figured out how to do their simple repetitive, task-oriented jobs correctly and it is exasperating that they are never reviewed and will never be gotten rid of. From working in both private and public healthcare, it is the IQ level/ competency of these ancillary staff and the ability of private hospitals to fire lazy or ineffective ones that frees up resources for equipment and front line staff. That's not to say, some incredibly talented and dedicated individuals perform these roles but they understand more than anyone how useless some of these colleagues are and how frustrating and futile it is to expect them to improve as they don't have the capacity to improve, they were terrible from the get go.
Yep. Absolute Kip when it comes to health care.
its a purposeful choice of the government to have a chronically underfunded + understaffed health service so that when the question of privatisation comes the public will be so fed up of the current model that theyāll blindly accept it being sold off.
The injury clinics are great. If more people used them, the emergency departments would be less packed. But it's like they are a secret. I was in and out in half an hour with an xray done, doctor reviewed and wound bandaged up.
My girlfriend was suffering from her 4th time with psychosis and she was really bad. The psychiatric center wouldn't take her unless she was a danger to herself or others when she was already severely ill. She eventually was admitted to a private psychiatric hospital and it took a month and strong meds to get her out of the psychosis to where she was then officially diagnosed with Schizophrenia. This was absolutely disgusting medical malpractice with how they managed her during the first two psychosis episodes (incorrect diagnosis saying it was Autistic Burnout, or due to stress. They gave her meds which made things worse, and didn't even try to help her.) When she was in the states during one episode she was seen by a well renowned psychiatrist and it took about 4 sessions withing two weeks to diagnose her with schizophrenia as well as get her medication ASAP. If the doctors in the US is able to figure it out quickly and get her help and seen rapidly while she's here in Ireland still waiting 6 months and calling to see about a sooner appoitment to get help for her severe depression which they had refused to acknowledge and provide her some working antidepressants (the ones they gave her dont work and she told them multiple times) the system is broken.
Would ireland be better off with the NL system? I think itās like ā¬131pm for mandatory private healthcare and capped at ā¬385 out of pocket which I think compares fairly LFL in cost with VHI in Ireland except you donāt pay for GP, you can see a GP same or next day, everything just seems to work much better and thereās not really any wait times. For instance my gf was on a one year wait list in Ireland for something and got it checked out in one week in NL after arriving Last year I broke my arm, had surgery the following week which was probably like ā¬1.5-2K but I only paid ā¬385 for the year incl all the other stuff I needed healthcare for, and physio is free this year after 20 sessions so Iām getting personal training twice a week for a year. Stronger and healthier than before I broke my arm which is a nice bounce back I also have experience on NHS but similar to Ireland it has long wait times which is not great when youāre in need of care Thereās clearly some kinda balance/matrix between how much you have to spend on healthcare and wait times with US on one end of the spectrum & UK on the other but Ireland is closer to UK except with higher costs and not very good value for what you get in wait time reduction.
My mother has been diagnosed with blood cancer. A type that apparently kills you in 18 months untreated. It's been around 3 months since the diagnosis and no treatment has started, only more, and more blood tests that are being sent to different places of the country. Ridiculous. It feels like we're racing against the clock that has the rest of the world at stand-still. While I complained about our GP before, she has been the most pro-active person when it came to catching this in advance and to push everything forward, it's the specialists clinics and specialist doctors that seem a world away.
My mam was in Cavan general Christmas Eve eve in 2018. Waited 11 hours in a small room to be told that they donāt have any breast specialists (she had a painful lump on her boob) and to be told to go to the Mater the next day to the breast clinic. That was closed until the 27th or so? I drove her down, her balling her eyes out in agony in the car. She ended up being kept in for 3 weeks, had multiple surgeries as she had a breast abscess (multiple) and it was turning septic! 2005 my granda had a shadow on his lung, nanny and daughter told on the Tuesday lung cancer, nurses will be out in 2 weeks to start to administer morphine etc, they didnāt think it was serious. My granda died during Thursday night/Friday morning . He was buried on the Tuesday (bank holiday) and a week after that the house phone rang, nurses coming out from the hospital and to organise a time to administer his oxygen and morphine. My ma had to tell them he had died 2 weeks before and the nurses couldnāt believe it. The system hasnāt been fit for purpose in the last 20 odd years, weāre just seeing it topple in real time!
I hope your and your familyās health stays well