Patient with collapsed lung in Limerick Hospital 'had to dial 999' to get pain relief 

Clare man left 'crying in pain' after asking hospital staff to give him medication for four-and-a-half hours

Michael McCarthy: 'People were crying in distress for hours because they were bursting to go to the toilet and were afraid they would soil themselves.' Picture: John Kelly Photography

A young Clare man suffering from a collapsed lung claims he was left “crying in pain” for hours at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) and was forced to contact the ambulance control centre to get medication.

Michael McCarthy, a 24-year-old from Clarecastle, was rushed by ambulance to UHL on Friday at 5am where a tube was inserted as part of an emergency surgical procedure.