An elderly patient was left waiting on a trolley for seven straight days in A&E and needed his wife to wash him at one stage.
William O’Loughlin, 77, was admitted to the University Hospital Galway via ambulance after feeling unwell.
Billy suffers from renal failure, near complete blindness, poor hearing, heart and lung issues, and for a week stayed in an area that was “chaotic, tight on space, full of stale air, and no natural light”.
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His son Liam O’Loughlin said his father had waited on a trolley for 172 hours in total, during which, the only time he was washed was when his wife did it, who is also in her 70s.
Liam added: “The only shower he had while in the emergency department was when my mum went in and showered him, which is undignified for the pair of them.” While also being on a restricted diet, Billy quickly found himself deteriorating and surviving off “the offerings of soup and scrambled eggs.”
Liam said Billy “hadn’t slept in seven days, hadn’t eaten, he was in total discomfort [from lying on the hard trolley]”.
He was finally moved to a bed after the week-long struggle, and Liam said that his father “is like a different man”, adding: “It was the first time in seven days that he had seen daylight and received fresh air.”
Liam spoke of the mental resilience of his father, as he is making strides to return to his “sharp” and “witty” self.
Billy was not the only one affected by the events, as Liam found the mental fatigue taking a hold on himself also. He said: “It was close to day seven, and I was driving through Galway city, and I got lost. I just got completely lost.
“I was out in Westside at one point for no reason at all.”
He doesn’t blame the staff as he labelled it an “impossible job”, and the issue lies within the system that is in place.
Liam said: “My dad has been contributing to this country since he was 12 years old, and he still works on his small farm. I can’t believe it, and I’m ashamed of us as a country, that we would allow [this treatment] to happen. This isn’t just about my dad, but about everyone else who is in there.
“If we continue to allow this to happen, we’re up next, and if we think that this is OK, then we get what we deserve when it’s our turn.”
A UHG spokesman said: “We cannot comment on individual cases. When a patient or family makes personal information public, this does not relieve the HSE and all HSE funded hospitals of its duty to preserve/uphold patient confidentiality at all times.
“If patients or families have concerns or questions in relation to the care they can contact the hospital directly to discuss further.”
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