Elderly man refused transport in ambulance

A doctor had to inject an 83-year-old man with morphine so his son could drive him to hospital after the pensioner was refused transport in a public ambulance.

The elderly man from Barryroe in West Cork fell ill in the early hours of last Saturday morning and a SouthDoc GP recommended he be transferred immediately to hospital.

The pensioner had private health insurance and was informed he could get a bed at the Bon Secours hospital in Cork.