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A MAN WHO won €350,000 on the lottery is spending the money to go see where Scania trucks are made.
The anonymous man, from the west of Ireland, won the Lotto Plus One draw last week and collected his winnings today.
He said that he usually picks his own numbers based on trucks, but won this time with a quick pick.
“I’m truck mad, so many years ago, I devised a system of picking my Lotto numbers based on the names of trucks I know. There’s tons of them – Scania, Volvo, Peterbilt, Freightliner – and the rest.
So what I did was take the first letter of each truck – say Peterbilt- the letter ‘P’ is number 16 in the alphabet, then the number 16 would go on the ticket, and so on. It might be a bit of a mad system, but I’m that kind of guy.
And as for what he’s doing with his winnings, he was clear on what he wanted.
“I’m going on a cruise with this money. And I’m going on a Scandinavian cruise, to include where Scania trucks are made.
“And I’ll donate a few bob to the Children’s Hospital in Crumlin as well.”
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He forgot to complete the sentence. Numbers are at an all time low…. Because all other hospital activity, including elective testing and surgery was cancelled. Shucks.
I think he should appoint a government with a special Minister for Health who will have responsibility for the smooth running of our hospitals so this kind of thing never happens again ..
It’s obviously a Management issue and I am sure Enda is right on it !
No Enda thinks the nurses are having a ball,they are going to work to rule,before they are worked to death.
@John B You’re dead right, the only answer to this mess has been for hospitals to stop being hospitals as we know them. Routine and planned procedures have been cancelled, surgery, tests and procedures. In effect our hospitals have become dedicated to supporting their A&E Departments at the expense of everything else, despite this we still have people of trolleys and we don’t have any major outbreaks happening.
So as emergencies are treated in this manner, how long does it go on? How long does every other medical condition, procedure and treatment have to be put on hold for? Treating patients and healthcare personnel like this is nothing short of disgusting, its this and previous governments doing absolutely nothing and convincing most people they’re doing everything possible.
In the past few weeks a friend happened to be in a hospital A&E Department on a trolley, but he was grateful to be there and for the treatment he received. He told me that for the few days he was there he got to know the staff and couldn’t help but be humbled by their dedication and work ethic. He described how the nurse looking after him one day didn’t get her first break until 4.00pm after running from patient to patient all day. As one of the senior HSE managers came into the Department to “check on things” in the late afternoon he told her about this and what a disgrace they were making of it, how could they expect their staff to work in such dreadful conditions? This senior HSE manager shrugged her shoulders and said, “its their job” before walking off. So from the top down they expect to abuse their staff and patients, they may say one thing when there’s a microphone around, but their actions say another.
Oh yes, of course, they are living stopping out in the freezing cold and rain to make this protest.
Keep it up and thank you.
Retired nurse wishes you well. I did mine years ago, off duty, miners joined in, working in England at time.
On duty I took out tea and cake, I hope you are getting some hot drinks and food to help you a bit.
Only a fool or a knave would be leave anything that comes out of these charlatans mouths.
Let’s all blame a previous government. Because this government has had only 4 years to sort out the chronic hospital bed and staff shortages.
I’ve an idea Leo why don’t you get the HSE to set up a working group to look into it. And it can report march 2016.
To be fair the HSE is a monster. So many vested interests its nearly impossible to change anything without pi55ing off a load of people and causing a strike.
Nama wasn’t wound down in a week you know !
How far into a governments term does blaming the previous administration become an invalid response to criticism?
Leo is going back 15 years now. So I guess never is the answer Dermot.
Deputy Varadkar points the blame at previous administrations yet this is the worst it has ever been including previous governments when elective surgery wasn’t cancelled and there was greater numbers not on private insurance.
Leo can understand the frustration of nurses all day long but now is the time for action! Less talk & more action please otherwise the public will assume you dont have a breeze on how to resolve this #HSEShambles
I worked for 12 years in a Dublin A/E. They are massaging the numbers by admitting patients to day wards etc. Only a brief respite.
That’s ok then.
I’d be more worried where he’s put the other 300 people!
Their either strapped on plastic chairs in the waiting rooms, hidden under the beds or can someone please check the recycling bins just incase.
I wouldn’t trust this man to hold me a seat on a bus never mind look after the health of the Irish people.
Chris Leo is currently rolling up a load of shredded e50 notes inside a e500 note to escape the reality of the current situation. He doesn’t give a flip about how you or I perceive the trolley beds fiasco because he is puffing the Fine Gael magic dragon.
Fine Gael election manifesto paragraph 1.
“Mind over matter. If a problem arises, put out good thoughts/ feeling and pretend that it will all blow over.”
So in other words Leo there is no problem with our health service and everything is aaa-okay?
The normal past the buck tripe he’s another numpty can’t wait to see the back of him and his party and their fascist ways
I understand that they have removed the wheels from the trolleys thus converting them into stationary patient receptacles. Hey Presto – no longer a trolley.
And how have the waiting lists been affected ?
You should hang your head in shame Varadkar – there shouldn’t be one sick person on a trolly while you pay you ex buddy fat John Bruton and Co multiple pensions and allow CEO’s to claim children’s allowance.
Shame on FG, FF and Labour for allowing this to happen.
So Leo is spin champion of the day. Total tosh Leo and you know it. Like Inda you are creating a smoke screen. Next you will telling us people rang you up to say they had more money in wages thanks people friendly FG.
According to reports theres approx 850 people taking beds who are suitable for nursing home care..theres anout 1200 vacancies in nursing homes
It costs the hse 3500 a week to keep a hospital bed open
Nurding home care is 890 per week..join the dots leo
Is this government deluded. Quit blaming every one and do the job you are being paid quite well to do. This government closed or downgraded ed departments all over the country. Cut community services. What did they think would happen. Never tackled the mismanagement in the hse. Pathetic excuse s time and again.
Horse shite Leo !!
Sound bite city again. If the numbers really are that low it’s only because of the hard work of frontline staff and nothing this excuse for a minister done.
Can’t believe people can’t see through him he agrees with everything people says so he can fool them kenny is a gobshi.e but he’s after giving this snake a job to do and he’ll be found out for the bullshi.er he is
I blame DeValera and Collins for this, they should have sorted this out before the split in the 20′s. Can’t blame any party since then me backside.
Wait till the weekend,bit hastey I would say…
Numbers may be at an a 7 year low Leo but what about tomorrow or next week? Less mouth and more action.
Is there a shortage of trollies now?
No but why use a trolly when you can use the floor
He might as well have said ‘no one wants to sort out this mess’ full stop!!
Now clear the waiting lists,before people die waiting
Leo, my wife’s grandmother went to hospital yesterday for a small eye surgery operation under local anaesthetic. Her blood pressure rose a bit so they monitored her until 18.00. At that time they sent her home with paracetamol and told her to come back again at 9.00 am so that they could monitor her again for today. The reason they did this she was told was because they hadn’t enough beds and nurses to monitor the people. The nurses were told by their bosses that they weren’t to have people on trollies anymore and to send them home and to tell them to come back in the mornings at 9.00. You are putting people’s life’s at risk Leo by trying to make yourself look good. This is not like transport Leo, people will die from your poor decisions. Stop point scoring and get your hands dirty. Help out in 1 of these hospitals for a day and then go and sort the problems
“If you compare like with like and if you compare this time of year over the last number of years, the number of people on trolleys (359) is actually at a seven-year low,” Varadkar told reporters this afternoon.
How can you compare like with like when they weren’t even compiling ward and trolley watch stats seven years ago?
On a point of accuracy, Inmo website has records of figures back to 2005 – input date on trolley watch and click date. You’re welcome.
The INMO didn’t conduct ward watch seven years ago, so you cannot possibly compare like with like.
Once again, the INMO fails to put figure on how much the measures that they demand will cost and where in the health budget the funds should be diverted from.
Maybe divert it from foreign bankers and gamblers remember not one more red cent !!!
What price the nations health Denito?
Im sure a few pensions and payoffs to former ministers, civil service, semi-statement management and bankers etc could be diverted oh and as someone already pointed out stop giving money to bondholders and foreign banks I am sure we could make up a few euros to give to the health budget
Leo V will be guided along to become “all things to all men” so when Enda fall’s on his sword or more likely stabbed in the back by his own, Leo will step forward like a shinning beacon of light to save the FG party and our country. Government seem,s to have come out fighting after their prolonged Christmas break ,Gov good news stories FG up in polls, Joan B most popular leader and Leo saves hospitals are doing the rounds and don’t forget the economy is in recovery they say. Government by media spin is the order of the day for these muppet,s , more jobscam and talking up the economy as “the best little country to do business in” is ridiculous . Most people want it to be the best little country to “live in” and if it’s good for business that’s a bonus, but let’s get our priorities straight. Look after your own citizens before multi-national corporations who care nothing for there workforce and will relocate to newer pastures to cut costs when it suits them. FG is finished no matter who leads their party.
Another pearl of wisdom from the brain of Mayo
Brain from mayo, that’s very generous. More like brain cell from mayo :)
A live cell ?
People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones ..
Reverting to blame politics won’t solve the elderly people on trolleys ..
surprised leo has not suggest patients share a bed and that will cut the waiting down
““things have consistently improved year-on-year until it started to deteriorate again in the summer culminating in a spike last week”.” Well Leo that would be under you and your governments watch. Why not stick to the here and now rather then running away into history. Unless you want to be history?
The man’s a genius, did he figure that out all on his own.
Jesus call stephen Hawkins.
Wouldn’t count your chickens….there were no ward and trolley watch figures seven years ago.
How can they all of a sudden clear all the trolleys out of A&E ?. There was no room for the patients last week when Leo said feck this and went off on holidays to Florida. All within the space of a few days all the space was found. A friend of mine was admitted to A&E last week and was on a trolley in A&E and when the heat came on he ended in the centre of a ward with patients on either side of the ward were feet first facing him. He had no privacy whatever and was completely humiliated by the whole experience.
Leo Varadkar has his eye on the top job one day and does not want his squeaky clean image tarnished by any controversy hence his uncaring and clinical responses to an emotional issue. Going back ten years shows the desperation that FG and varadkar have to deflect from their time in control and have not achieved anything. In fact it is on Varadkars watch that we have for the first time ever exceeded the 600 barrier for those on trollies in our emergency departments and that is not the fault of any other government but this one. In this country we need people who take responsibility. We need accountability. We need people who care to govern. Don’t hold your breath?
The entity known as the hse is as broken as the fine Gail labor cronies, the difference being the hospital staff are over worked and underpaid while our glorious elite are over paid under worked and unqualified! And that includes the fine failers
Haha,flannery is back,the spin man ,it doesn’t work anymore
How many health ministers have said that,and the health service is a shambles.We need someone to DO it not talk about it.how many more incompetent ministers,before we get some real action,and take the strain off the nurses
Ordering local doctors to not send people to hospital
Now that Leo’s back from holidays he can show us how its done, all talk and no action.
Must have kicked them out yesterday lol.
No shit, Enda? Who’d a thunk it.
He’s like the rest off them, all mouth and nothing else.
It’s like he doesn’t even want to get re-elected. Wonder if he actually pays someone to keep damaging his reputation with useless waffling. Wish he’d do the job he’s getting very well paid to do and shut up about everything and everyone else.
,more spin Leo,be a man ,accept responsibility, and resign
Leo the luar
It’s 2015
So how long has Fine Gael been in government? And he is still blaming the previous government? At what point once elected does the Minister think his department becomes his responsibility? I mean, we are months away from an election and Leo is trying to tell everyone that the problems his government have not even attempted to fix are all Fianna Fails fault? I think after having the reigns for FOUR YEARS makes this entirely FINE GAELS issue now. Sorry Leo, if your party serves 4/5ths of its time in office and you can’t get things done you don’t get to blame the last guy anymore.
Someone was on the radio last weekend discussing the overcrowding in A&E with people stuck on trolleys and chairs (if they were lucky!) and it was said that there are 80 plus patients in wards who were fit to be discharged at the weekends, but there is NO ONE to discharge them, so Monday (up to two days later) was the earliest these patients could be discharged. Surely a doctor should be able to deem someone fit to go home and once the patient has been checked after the doctor goes home by a nurse or other doctor, that patient should be discharged, freeing up a bed in a ward—up to 80 of them actually, and then A&E would be less overcrowded, less stressful for the patients attending A&E,and less stressful for the overworked doctors and nurses in A&E.
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