Your experience in A&E is a classic example of how the system is failing the most vulnerable people in society – those in need of emergency care.

I love your description of the stages involved in surviving a wait in A&E…

Hope…uncertainty…doubt…despair…anger…and finally resignation!

All so true, unfortunately.

There is no doubt that our Health system requires more money – we spend less of our GDP than the OECD average, not to mention comparison with those at the top of the league from a health perspective. We have less doctors per head and many fewer acute beds etc. So resources is an issue. I’m not sure whether the ideology of our government (and main opposition) is the blocking point for more investment or whether the Irish electorate is addicted to low income tax and would mistrust giving more back even for health. Probably a combination of both.

But besides the resources question – there are other issues such as management of the resources we have, oversight of procedures, and the ‘culture’ of indifference in parts of the service. You come across these issues at every turn. Why can these issues not be identified more precisely and tackled? Is it the low staff morale? Is it the complexity of the system – if so, reorganise it, break it down, get to the root of it. Or is it entrenched positions and powerblocks within the system? I have no idea. But those who have been in charge of the system for the last decade have failed to turn these things around. And I have no reason to believe, none whatever, that this is going to change in the medium term.

I also had the misfortune to visit a hospital a month ago when a relative was ill. She was in the Cork University Hospital. This particular ward had a small balcony but the door to same was locked everytime we were there. One afternoon we looked out through the door towards the balcony to see if it was raining. What we saw was disgusting – adult diapers thrown in the far corner, other types of plastic and medical supplies. It was filthy. Now-a-days they have a policy of not telling you if any relative has MRSA of Clostridium Difficle. How in god’s name can you prevent its spread if the hse is only worried about its reputation.
Our health system is worse than we can even begin to imagine and unfortunately we only get to see it when we most need it.

we have a pretty good country in Ireland but our terrible weakness is that as a nation we often fail to demand more of our elected representatives.

I have no doubt that when Mary Harney’s mother was in hospital she was not in a ward that had medical supplies randonly thrown onto the balcony. I bear no malice towards that poor woman or even towards the weak and blustering Harney who can spout free market platitudes but cant walk the walk. The point remains that our health system sucks and she is the one presiding over it as did an Taoiseach and Michael Martin. Will those incompetent and vacillating people be ever held to account by the electorate. Probably not and thats whats most depressing because it means if you can ride out your run in the Health dept for 2-3 years you’ll never need to achieve anything.