Patient: 'I was on a trolley and witnessed someone die beside me, no dignity'

The survey by the Midwest Hospital Campaign found that 60% of patients reported a negative experience with the emergency department in University Hospital Limerick

Among the complaints raised were a woman who was 33 weeks pregnant being left on a tattered examination table without a blanket or pillows, and patients who left untreated before being diagnosed with serious conditions at other medical facilities.

A patient who waited 33 hours before being allocated a room is among the 60% of patients who reported a negative experience with the emergency department in University Hospital Limerick.

Other complaints raised included a woman who was 33 weeks pregnant being left on a tattered examination table without a blanket or pillows, and patients who left untreated before being diagnosed with serious conditions at other medical facilities.

A survey carried out between November 10 and December 10 as a spot-check received 535 patient responses, and was submitted to the Committee on Public Petitions by the Midwest Hospital Campaign. Over one-quarter (29.4%) of those who responded were aged over 65 and were asked about the best and worse aspects of their stay.

Some 44.3% said they were “very dissatisfied” with their visits. One-in-five were “dissatisfied”, while 11% were “satisfied” and 8.3% “very satisfied”. A further 16% were neutral on this topic.

The ‘temperature-check’ survey was carried out by the MidWest Hospital Campaign as part of a submission to the Oireachtas Petitions Committee calling for urgency in addressing these problems.

A spokeswoman said: “It includes hundreds of personal testimonies from people who have had to attend the Emergency Department and it makes for an incredibly harrowing read.”  They received 535 responses from Clare (49%), Limerick (32%) and Tipperary (18%) on the best and worst aspects of care during the last 12 months.

One person said: “There was no best aspect it was a nightmare from start until I got to a room 33 hours later.” 

Among the distressing responses was a 33-weeks pregnant woman who said she was “left on tattered examination table with no blanket or pillows”.

Another wrote: “No one tried to stop me leaving after hours of being neglected, later diagnosed with sepsis in Galway”.

One patient wrote: “Everyone is moved to facilitate another patient who may be called for tests or X-rays and when they come back you are slotted back into your spot in the corridor - FFS - patients are humans not animals”.

Another remembered "waiting in a corridor trying to get a nurse when I wanted to vomit and another patient assisted me. I was embarrassed.” 

One person wrote of “being on a trolley and witnessed someone die beside me, no dignity” while other spoke of their “sense of despair”.

One person recalled seeing: “Older man next to me in late 80s asked to go to the toilet 5 times, ended up soiling himself and getting distraught. No privacy at all in trolley.” 

One mother wrote: “I was kept in for "observation" and not observed or checked on by nurses once. 

33 weeks pregnant left on tattered examination table with no blanket or pillows until the porter saw me and moved 16 trolleys out of the way to get me a trolley and blanket.

Another person said: “Trolleys everywhere. Not half enough staff. Nobody being treated. Closed my eyes for 2 hours, could have been dead. Nobody checked me after having such a close call with anaphylaxis.” 

Another described the shortage of dedicated isolation spaces for Covid-patients, writing: “Being left lying on floor due to severe pain. Covid + no isolation”.

'Best aspect'

However one praised “the new way they assess and send to other departments like medical assessments unit.” 

Other responses to the “best aspect” focused on nurses, doctors and porters with staff rated at 3.2 out of five.

One person wrote: “Nursing staff were brilliant when they had time to get around to patients” while another highlighted “dedication of staff working under extreme conditions”.

Almost one in 10 (11%) said they were satisfied with their experience, but over 60% said they were “dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied”. The HSE submission, dated November 2022, states the national support team continues working with the hospital on a three-year improvement plan. 

This will focus on concerns such as only 25.6% of ambulances meeting the target for dropping patients and turning around at UHL compared to the national target of over 80%, and further construction. 

They found 78.9% of over-75s are moved out of the ED in less than 24 hours compared to the 99% target. Comparing ED figures with 2019, they found attendances increased by 11.1% and follow-on admissions increased by 12.8%.