It Occurs To Me: The crisis in hospitals knows no borders

The headline in the Irish News was a stark one: “Northern Ireland patients are three times more likely to be on hospital waiting lists than those in the Republic.”

There was a time when southern patients looked with envy at the NHS system up north, but no longer. The following social media post from an Inishowen person, whose husband fell ill in Derry, says it all. It is entitled: “A January experience at the ED in Altnagelvin”

“As we take our leave after 44 hours in the Emergency Dept at Altnagelvin hospital (on a chair) it is with sincere thanks to the amazing staff there. Himself took unwell in Derry on Wed and ended up here at the ED. From arrival on Wed evening, the staff (from cleaning staff, to the medical team, to the outstanding neurology team) were all simply exceptional, and we couldn’t fault any.Our medical result is a hugely positive one - all is well.

“BUT, oh my goodness, we have never seen such chaos, such overcrowding, in a medical setting, ever. Staff are literally run off their feet and exhausted. And yet they give 100% to every patient. Patients are squeezed in everywhere.

“We are patients in ROI so this really was an emergency situation (which ends well), but what we’ve witnessed these 44 hours (sat on a chair day and night in the ED waiting room) has been nothing short of brutal, and inhumane. The UK government should be ashamed of themselves. These staff are above and beyond exceptional, and should NOT have to work in these circumstances.

'Northern Ireland patients are three times more likely to be on hospital waiting lists than those in the Republic'

"Patients who are seriously ill, in severe pain, from the very young, to the very elderly, we have watched sit for hours/days. Not because of any staff fault, but because of the government's fault. Cruelty we have seen. We are fully aware that our hospitals in ROI are overcrowded too but we can only speak about what we have witnessed. And it has been in Derry.

Again, sincere thanks to the outstanding staff at Altnagelvin, but shame on those responsible for making you work in such an understaffed environment. Tag any politicians in N’Ire and ROI and ask them to go spend 44 hours on a chair in the ED, ill, and see what they think!”

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Meanwhile in Donegal, as reported in the Democrat, patients requiring specialised care such as chemotherapy or radiation are currently required to travel to Galway and Dublin, in some cases.

County councillor Denis McGee said it is “not humane” to have Donegal people travelling so far to receive medical care, calling it “a disgrace”. “Patients in Donegal have to travel up to Galway for cancer care and maybe other procedures as well, but I think it's very cruel what the state is putting these people through. I'm up with a family today and it is over five hours of a journey to come up here with somebody who has cancer.”

Added to that scandalous statistic, there were 50 patients without a bed at Letterkenny University Hospital (LUH) a few weeks ago,  according to the latest Trolley Watch figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation. 

                               Hooray for headless chickens!

In the Indo last Monday, Fionnán Sheahan’s headline read: “Headless chickens want Micheál Martin to duck the White House. This is why he can’t. Taoiseach's cautious approach has served him well during 15 years as Fianna Fáil leader, so he won’t abandon it now.”

Well, let me demur. Fifteen years of caution? If you go to the Fianna Fáil website, it reads: “One of Micheál’s proudest achievements in politics is the introduction of the Smoking Ban to Ireland whilst he was Minister for Health in 2004.” 

Fair enough, but what about hospital beds, trolleys, the Children’s Hospital, etc, etc? Not only ‘caution’ as Health Minister but as Taoiseach in the interim! Jim Gavin’s presidential debacle. Caution? What about this headline in Fionnán Sheahan’s paper at the weekend? 

“Fianna Fáil support plummets to 15pc as nearly half voters want Micheál Martin replaced.”

Caution? I know Fionnán was particularly referring to Martin’s proposed visit to The White House on St Patrick’s Day but I’m proud to be a ‘headless chicken’ on this one. To travel to Washington with an elongated syrupy cautious tongue to pay homage to the Mango Mussolini at this moment in time, does no credit to him or to Ireland. When the Greenland controversy erupted, Martin was cautious. At the time of writing, what has he said about the Minnesota murders by his ICE goons of innocent people? Cautious? It makes my blood boil! He even was cautious about us joining the farcical Board of Peace. Remember this headline:

“Simon Harris doubles down on opposition to Trump’s Board of Peace after Taoiseach leaves door open.” As John Drennan wrote earlier in the week: “Coalition unease growing over ‘dithery’ Taoiseach’s ability to deal with Trump.”

In an interview with CNN, Mary Robinson, described the board as a “power grab by an individual who now has imperial ideas”. On RTÉ Radio on Monday, she was asked if categorising the Trump administration as fascist was accurate. 

“I’ve certainly seen the elements that were certainly what built up fascism in Germany (in the 1930s) The elements are there. There’s no doubt about it.” 

The former president said she has been following the situation and the reaction to the two killings closely, “and how the lies were instant by President Trump himself and his administration”. No ‘Caution’ with Mary, fair play to her! Could Michéal not take a leaf from Canadian Premier Mark Carney’s book? Now there’s a statesman with ‘liathróidí’!

Remember the words of Pastor Martin Niemoller, who was released from Dachau by the Allies in 1945:

“First they came for the Communists

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Communist

Then they came for the Socialists

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Socialist

Then they came for the trade unionists

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a trade unionist

Then they came for the Jews

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me

And there was no one left

To speak out for me.”

                        Stormont not fit for purpose

Having a pint with some friends in Derry before Christmas - a mix of nationalists and unionists - I was struck by their agreeing on one crucial aspect of northern politics - Stormont is not fit for purpose! 

One friend mentioned a very good article by Tom Kelly, former vice-chairman of the SDLP and member of the Policing Board, so I made sure to download the relevant Irish News feature. Tom began his article by looking at the scandalous overspend on the Children's Hospital in Dublin, and added:  “On this side of the border, Stormont is also an abject failure into which money and hopes have been poured. Unfortunately, it’s also a carnivorous beast with an insatiable appetite.

That said, Stormont isn’t failing because it’s too big to fail – on the contrary, it fails because it’s too small to succeed. The list of Executive and departmental failures is now so long that it makes the reading of the Franciscan Litany of Saints of the Three Seraphic Orders seem like a shorthand note. Imagine if there was a secular litany of debacles: Lough Neagh - Lord rescue us! No maternity hospital - Lord have mercy on us! No Casement – Lord hear our plea! No policing - Lord protect us! There’s hardly a single department in Northern Ireland functioning efficiently or with accountability. Short-termism and political opportunism appear to guide every move.

The ministers are not incompetent or bad people. The reality is the overwhelming majority of our political classes have never run anything, let alone vast departments with huge budgets.” Ouch! No ‘caution’ from Tom!