85-year-old woman in two-hour search for hospital bed

HEALTH Minister Mary Harney has been accused of treating people like cattle after an acutely ill 85-year-old woman was shuttled between Dublin hospitals in a two-hour search for a bed.

Eventually, the seriously ill woman ended up on a trolley in Tallaght Hospital after her arduous ambulance tour of Dublin.

Fine Gael’s Dr James Reilly referred to the case as “a modern day ‘no room at the inn’ story” and a symbol of all that is wrong with the health service when a 20-minute ambulance transfer turns into a two-hour ordeal.