An asthmatic pensioner with spinal problems has told how she waited three days on a hard chair in hospital.
Elderly Geraldine Bollard, 78, spoke outside Beaumont Hospital and said: “No one cares, I was waiting three days on a metal chair.
“I’m a chronic asthmatic with lung trouble, I'm a diabetic, and I’ve spine trouble. I was very stiff and I had to end up getting steroids through a drip.”
READ MORE: Wife of man who died on Limerick hospital trolley five years ago says 'nothing has changed'
Geraldine was speaking to Newstalk Radio reporter Henry McKean for the station’s show The Hard Shoulder.
She called for greater services for the elderly and said: “My message to the Government is that they have to start looking after the old people who are sick and vulnerable.
“There’s nothing in there for old people. I sat in there all night without a cup of tea. I think it is a disgrace. The nurses are under complete stress."
Her husband added: “Three days she was waiting on a hard chair. They should all be sacked in the Government, everyone of them. They should all be turned out of Government. The poor nurses are run off their feet. No-one cares. I blame the politicians.”
Levels of soaring hospital overcrowding remained amongst the highest ever recorded yesterday – prompting warnings that the State needs 5,000 more beds.
A leading nurses’ union branded it “an out and out crisis” and claimed that it “warrants an extraordinary response from Government and the HSE” to stop hospital staff quitting.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar revealed the scale of the trolley crisis was a priority at the first Cabinet meeting of the year.
But Health Minister Stephen Donnelly repeated his warning that the HSE fears the overcrowding will get worse, despite the record INMO figure of 931 on Tuesday and 838 yesterday.
The Irish Hospital Consultants’ Association warned that numbers could soon go above 1,000 and accused health chiefs of having “no credible plan” to tackle the crisis.
READ NEXT:
All the Bank Holiday dates for Ireland in 2023 including new one for St Brigid's Day
- Passenger dies on board plane diverted to Ireland
- Brave dog attack victim gives thumbs up from hospital bed
- Notorious hitman booted out of Ireland
To get the latest news from at home and abroad, visit our homepage
