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A WOMAN WHOSE teenage daughter was put on a 249-week outpatient waiting list for Midland Regional Hospital at Tullamore has said that it “won’t be easy” if she now has to be seen privately.
Toni, who lives in Kildare, said that her daughter will be an adult by the time she is scheduled to attend the appointment in over four-and-a-half years time.
She told The Journal that her daughter has regularly suffered from nosebleeds, but until recently they were never that serious. However, she said she began to experience dizziness after a nosebleed a few weeks ago.
“I brought her straight to the GP, and the GP wrote off to Tullamore Hospital. He said I won’t even bother putting you to Tallaght seeing that you can’t get in there at all. He said you’ll have much better luck in Tullamore. I doubt he knew it at the time,” she said.
Toni said the letter arrived very quickly to inform her that her daughter had been placed on the out-patient waiting list.
The letter, seen by The Journal, states: “I wish to inform you that the current waiting list is in excess of 249 weeks. However, depending on the urgency of your referral an appointment may be issued before this time. If your condition deteriorates, you should make an appointment with your GP.”
Toni then contacted the hospital and asked if it was a typo, but she was informed that the figure was correct.
“I’ve always heard like, you know, that the patient lists were extremely long, but God, nearly five years is really something,” she said.
It’s just heartbreaking to see 249 weeks on a letter. And I remember looking at it first kind of going: ‘God, that’s nearly a year.’ And then I went: ‘Oh my god, that’s weeks’.
“And it says ‘in excess’ of 249 weeks, so what that means, I don’t know.”
The hospital gave her the name of two private doctors, but said otherwise, there was nothing they could do.
She has a phone consultation with her GP on Monday, who she says will probably recommend her daughter is seen privately.
“I won’t know how much that will be. I’d say my GP will write a letter to one of these doctors and I’ll probably get a letter from them stating how much it will be. Consultations are normally around €250 anyway,” she said.
“I’m a single mother and I work, but gosh, it’s not going to be easy, you know, having to do this privately if that’s the case. But if she needs it, she needs it and that’s it.”
‘Outrageous’
The waiting list for the hospital has been raised with Health Minister Stephen Donnelly in the Dáil several times, especially in the months following the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Fianna Fáil TD Barry Cowen raised the issue of another person waiting on an appointment in the hospital last week.
Speaking to The Journal, he said the waiting list is “outrageous”.
“I know we can’t hide the fact that the pandemic has had a huge impact, but notwithstanding that, there needs to be a specific plan and procedures put in place whereby people can see a pathway out of the present difficulties,” he said.
He said he has been in touch with the Health Minister and the HSE asking “what preparations are in place to put forward a solution and a mechanism by which this might be addressed”.
According to figures provided to Cowen by the Department, there were a total of 1,340 people on Tullamore Hospital’s outpatient waiting list last month. 184 people have been on the list for over 18 months.
“If this has to go outside the norm, even beyond the National Treatment Purchase Fund into the private sector, or enter into arrangements with private sector providers, whatever, we need to see it.”
In May 2021, Sinn Féin spokesperson for older people Patricia Ryan TD asked the Health Minister to provide a figure for the number of people who were waiting for an appointment at the hospital.
In the figures provided by Donnelly, which were up to 25 March 2021, there were a total of 7,530 people on the waiting list. 39 people had been on the list for over five years.
Ryan told The Journal that there are “huge problems” at the hospital.
“I had a man contact me who was five years waiting for the ear, nose and throat (ENT) consultant, and he had been to a consultant in a private hospital in December under the National Treatment Purchase Fund. He was told he’d be sent for an MRI in the near future, and six months later, he’s still waiting. It’s a massive problem currently and we’re constantly raising it,” she said.
She said she’s contacted regularly by older people and their families in her locality in relation to the hospital.
“The majority of issues are around older people languishing on waiting lists and being kept on trolleys for hours, and in some cases, days. We need to see solutions,” she said.
“Root and branch reform I suppose is what we would be looking for, and we need to talk to patients and staff on the ground and see what changes they feel are needed.”
In a statement to The Journal, a spokesperson for Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore said it is recognised that waiting times for scheduled appointments and procedures have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“While significant work continues to positively impact on waiting times and improve pathways to elective care, acute hospitals have been impacted by operational challenges arising from surges in cases related to the Delta and Omicron variants and last year’s cyber-attack,” the statement said.
The Hospital cannot comment on the individual matters and regrets that patients are experiencing prolonged waiting times to be seen for treatment as we prioritise those who are waiting longer and clinically urgent cases.
The statement said that progress has been achieved with regard to outpatient waiting lists at the hospital, but added that challenges “do exist in some specialities”.
“The Hospital has made every effort to minimise the impact of the operational challenges such as the pandemic and have included the prioritisation of time-sensitive treatments at all times and the use of a range of measures to increase capacity when feasible, outsourcing, virtual assessments, new clinical pathways and adoption of new technologies,” the statement continued.
It added that the hospital is implementing the 2022 Waiting List Action Plan, launched in February 2022, and that it aims to achieve the national targets that no patient is waiting over 18 months by the end of the year.
“The 2022 Waiting List Action Plan aims to deliver urgent and additional capacity to treat 1.7 million people as well as investing longer term reforms to bring sustained reductions in waiting lists. This is the first year of the multi-annual reform programme.”
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They are not Irish, they are ‘Traveller’.
O’Brien, Kiely and O’Reilly being renowned traveller surnames
Well if they are not Irish then we can kick them out of Ireland.
Who will sign my petition?
The Todd..did you see the original article monhs ago? Did you see the TV News Reports from Australia? Obviously not because you would know the truth and not be relying on names to identify the ‘ethnicity’ of these criminals.
Ye some of them were travellers. Not all. But sure you go for it there
All of the surnames you listed are on this list
http://www.travellerheritage.ie/parish_records_of_surnames.asp
Haha that lists covers half the surnames in Ireland. Using your logic, anyone that has those surnames are travellers. Come on now, I know it’s the weekend, let’s not get too crazy though
Pibaldshite
Haha, no todd. Mary was just giving you proof that people with those surnames can be travellers! But dont let that get in the way of your little rant..
What rant exactly? Just because they can be traveller surnames doesn’t mean that they are in this regard. No article I have found makes these three men as travellers. But due to Irish people’s ignorance travellers are the most discriminated against and prejudged people in Irish society. We voted on equality only a few weeks ago yet choose to treat these people as easy targets. I’m in agreement that what’s these lads done is utterly disgusting, but why try to use them as a opportunity to slate all travellers. There’s a rant for you
@The Todd;
Mary Louny did NOT assert that anyone whose name is on the list is a traveller.
The list was introduced to counteract YOUR illogical argument that, because of their names) they were NOT travellers.
Before slagging off other people with “… by your logic…” you would do well to have a look at your own, and also learn what the word actually means!
My apologies, but a list with 70 odd surnames wouldn’t be something I would view as conclusive evidence. There has been nothing to say these men are travellers, so it’s quite presumptuous regardless. I think it was the dig all the community in general that got under my skin
Sorry, it was more of a silly deflection to the fact you were wrong than a rant!. With your logic, anybody with the names O’brien, Kiely and O’Reilly cant be travellers?. I agree with a lot of your comments I see todd, but sometimes you just clearly hate being wrong..
Todd..you obviously have access to the internet..go find the original TV news reports and then come back here and inform us that the group involved are not travellers. Don’t be so lazy, do some research before criticising others.
As I said above, some of them were travellers. Sorry maybe I am wrong but it just annoys me how quick people are to slate all travellers with the actions of a few. I’ll take my outrage elsewhere
it’s the scam that suggests travellers, it’s one they have used for years in Ireland and last year in Australia
it is a scam normally associated with travellers though .lowest if the low to do that to anybody. especially the elderly .
They are filth, they deliberately do a bad job and screw the most out of the old and vulnerable. A decent days work is not in their genes. Same people do it all over Europe and the States and indeed at home. Pure vermin.
@The Todd… if you feel so strongly about backing travellers, just put up a few stories about all the good travellers have done recently to counter balance people’s comments…
Does it really matter, you can’t choose your biological parents, however nobody can condone what they did, preying on the elderly like that. Sorry boss if my comment offends anyone.
Yes that’s right they are an ethnic group so why are they calling them Irish
David, your surname is on the list above. Are you a traveller? Mark, unfortunately media don’t report any good done by travellers because good news doesn’t sell. There are a small cohort of travellers who give a lot of them a bad name and it’s always media porn. Same with youths, same with migrants, and the same with anyone viewed as “the other”.
@the Todd, what good have you witnessed from them so? or are you basing your defence of them on nothing
I think you got that the wrong way around , there are a small amount of travellers who are good people , but that’s it
@The Todd, small cohort my a**e, in this case alone 7 men and19 women and children were detained after a raid on their “camp”. No doubt, the ones that were deported and not imprisoned have learnt their lesson and wont be bad any more.
On another note, can you explain the wealth of ethnic minority.
I’ve witnessed plenty of good, I’ve very rarely had a bad experience with any travellers. Look at Galway and the work they are doing in reinsulating houses over that way. Plenty work in run of the mill jobs but don’t identify as travellers within organisations due to the discrimination that they face. I’m not denying that there are issues within their way of life, and things that must be addressed, but vilifying them consistently can only further isolate them from general civilisation. This us and them attitude does nothing for anyone and until this is addressed barriers will always remain. I knew I wasn’t gonna get much agreement here but I can only try to advocate for equality, it can only but have positive outcomes for all involved.
Todd.. The traveller culture surpresses women, the women are expected to marry young, often without finishing 2nd level schooling.. But of course their representatives blame the ‘settled’ community for not doing enough to keep them in school.. They are then expected to stay at home rearing families and cleaning. Traveller fathers would most definitely not allow their daughters to marry ‘settled’ people and no one would dare criticise that view…but if a ‘settled’ person said they would bar their children from marrying a traveller then they would be labelled racist.
Travellers bring a lot of problems onto themselves and their representatives do them no favours by failing to acknowledge that fact.
So you’re saying we should ignore facts just to be all pc to a group that has decided they want to treated equally but differently at the same time,while making treating them differently illegal and racist.
And your Surname could be there too Todd if you did not prefer the safe option of hiding behind a pseudonym . My Grandmothers name was Kiely so I am qualified to have an opinion on the subject Boss !
it is them who regularly put forward the US versus them, they say they are a different ethnic group constantly and should be treated differently. 85% of them don’t work (quote from Patrick Collins of pavee point on the journal ) yet they seem to have an abundance of money available..
I did just acknowledge that above. And as a settled person having had a girlfriend who was a traveller, I find your understanding to be ill informed. There are many problems that must be addressed but it’s hard to address them when the biggest issue is that they face discrimination from 99% of the country. Did you know that one in six males commit suicide within the traveller community, which is already disproportionately high to any other group. Their access to health care and non discriminatory education is also a massive issue. In my eye, education is integral to advancing any community but the 99% must also educate themselves on what it means to be a traveller and how much discrimination they face. Rather than rely on the vitriol spewed by media which in any other instance would be condemned
David my auld flower, my name is Stephen Todd, you’ll find me there on Facebook. Todd being my surname of course. I take it that you look like an egg is it? You’ll also find this directly links to my Twitter. Pseudohypocrite maybe
I rely on my own two eyes and my own two ears.
So even though I’ve come up with examples, I’m still undoubtably wrong? I’m away to watch the football
The Todd.. How, where and when are travellers denied access to health care? The schools are available to them but because their culture involves moving around a lot it sort of interferes with regular lessons.
To be sure !
Travellers maybe, Irish yes, so, Mary, your point is ?
You’re all missing the point, they maybe travellers but they are still Irish!
Mary, your list defines them as IRISH, you say they are not. Is your list, provided, incorrect ?
I dont think Tod could find any good in any thing the travelers have done recently or in the past! And…if he supports their behavior…culture etc try employing a few of them and i guarantee he’ll soon change his attitude towards them!
I’ve just outlined it in a post above, and have also worked with many travellers, none of whom I’ve found as much as difficult.
They got very light sentences, pity.
They are in Australia on Irish passports which means they are IRISH. It’s an idiotic argument that tries to say otherwise.
Love to see the right-wing crowd come out disavowing the traveller community as Irish. Sure on every article about the government’s continued refusal to grant them separate ethnic status, you all harp on and on and on about the fact they shouldn’t get it because they just want to use it to play the victim. As soon as it suits your agenda, you’re quick enough to claim them as a different ethnicity.
Todd, every Irish person looking for work in Australia is going to hear remarks about these criminals. Pretty sure they’ll work twice as hard to prove they’re not like that. Fair enough to blame the people who did the damage and cheated those people out of their hard-earned money. Are you saying that travellers are going to have a collection to pay those people back? Who wouldn’t respect that? A bit of positive community action would be great to see.
Fcukers! Got what they deserved.
They have the same modus operandi here but get away with it
“26 Irish people were deported from Perth at the time of the men’s initial arrest.”
No prizes for guessing to where they have been deported..
God help us, these travelling tricksters are probably back in Ireland,climbing on the roofs of Irish elderly citizens, as I write.
Could they not have been brought to the centre of the Island (Australia) and left there for the lizards to pick their bones.?
The Aussies will have to be a little more selective in issuing (presumably) holiday visas to the Irish.
@John Bennett,
Will they still have a clean Irish record now?
It seems rather odd that criminal convictions stop at the border and you have a clean slate then at the other side. Its also a problem we have within Europe of course.
@ john you dont need a clean criminal history to get an australian holiday visa or working holiday visa, the question is asked but no proof has to be provided. It is only when going for a permanent residency visa that you have to provide proof.
Well done Australia, in Ireland Pavee Point would have whined and whinged until the local authorities had yet again ignored their criminality and instead paid for this utter filth to get a new house, equestrian centre etc for them to pillage, ransack and burn – They are laughing at us…. Simple.
The cheek of them. Hope karma gets catches up with them good and proper…
Who is karma.?
If Karma was a brand of steel toe boots, then I would agree.
Cowards preying on the elderly. I hope their time in prison is hell on earth.
They are an embarrassment to the Irish community in Australia.
I hope the Australian media labels them as Travellers (if that is the case) as distinct from ‘Irish’.
They entered Australia on Irish passports so they are Irish and where correctly reported in the Australian media as being Irish.
You’ve purposely missed my point.
had to be creamers.give them 10 years hard labour
Jacobs I would say
Disgusting really. Picking easy targets. Some criminals they are
The Todd f it smells like a duck, waddles like a duck, quacks like a duck, and it’s name is smith, it’s still a duck…….called smith!!!
S(umbags makes it hard of us irish trying to make a life for or selfs out here.
Hope they get the Boss!
You can’t put me in jail, – dat’s ‘scrimination boss.
Anyone who is convicted of abusing the elderly should get 10 years minimum.
I’d prefer stiffer penalties, like hanging.
I struggle to understand how a judge can describe this as ‘sophisticated’. It requires a level of shamelessness and intimidation certainly, but I don’t see the sophistication.
Unfortunately it is an age old scam that continues to happen in this country, we don’t seem to able to deal with it as efficiently. Sadly the perpetrators target the most vulnerable in society.
At least the Australian police catch them and prosecute. Here, they roam with impunity.
thank the courts for that!
Sadly the ones they deported will return to the luxury us suckers will provide for them for the rest of their lives.
Dirty rotten cream crackers at it again, and now we have their cousins the vermin roma at the same here
Jacobs are foul things aren’t they?
Will this mean that they will qualify for transportation to Ireland on the other side of the World?
Was in Perth for a few weeks, I think they’re getting the worst of the Irish. Possibly could be because its cheaper to get to Perth or maybe Western Oz is still desperate for more people.
That’s quiet a bold statement to make because you were in Perth for a few weeks you think you meet every Irish person. Perth is far from cheap, maybe a few hundred cheaper to fly to but certainly not cheap to live in.
Sucm.
Any scam against vulnerable people should be punished – not on the same scale but my parents were scammed by a telecoms company. the stress and anxiety it caused my father was sickening. I would love to see something similar happen here.
I like that the Oz police don’t take shi*t and just jail and deport – fk human rights .. I wish more countries would approach the Oz laws and processes !!
The police don’t jail anybody…the courts do.
Sure everybody loves the Irish, olé, olé, olé.
Nasty,crafty people.
Everyone deserves a second chance
disgraceful making a bad name for the irish lads and lassies workin hard over there
Lock them all up giving the young lads and ladies a bad that moved over there in bad times to try make a go of it
have your say