By Kathryn Hayes
The Irish Times
LIMERICK, Ireland — The treatment of a patient in an ambulance parked outside the emergency department of the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick has been described as “shocking and disappointing.”
Yesterday, a male patient presented at the hospital but as the emergency department was full, an electrical cable had to be extended out to an ambulance parked outside where the patient was treated with specialist equipment.
Thirty-six people were waiting for beds at the emergency department yesterday. Siptu chairman Jim McGrath said it was a scandal that “put patient safety at risk.”
In response to the incident, a spokesman for the HSE said the emergency department had been extremely busy following an upsurge in attendances. The spokesman said that the situation was exacerbated yesterday morning when four people were being treated in the major resuscitation facilities within the emergency department.
“A fifth patient presented by ambulance requiring non-invasive ventilatory support. This, the spokesman said, is usually done within one of the major resuscitation areas but all were occupied at the same time.
The incident was described as an “extremely unusual occurrence as it is exceptionally rare for five patients to require access to the major resuscitation facilities at the same time.”
The Mid-Western Regional Hospital Group has apologized to the patient for this occurrence, but they said that the “speedy treatment of the patient was a priority and this was done to a high clinical standard by a medical professional.”
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