Fitzmaurice ‘frustrated with HSE’ following local medical incident
Independent Ireland TD Michael Fitzmaurice has called for the "removal of red tape" from health service procedures following a recent incident in which a seriously-ill woman from South Roscommon was unable to directly access medical treatment in the west of Ireland.
Speaking in Dáil Éireann, the Roscommon-Galway elected representative said he was "frustrated with the HSE system" as he addressed the issue of a 39-year-old woman who "collapsed with a bleed in the brain" outside a gym in Athlone.
The woman was subsequently transferred to Beaumont Hospital by the air ambulance but following treatment "physio and rehabilitation" were needed.
According to the TD the wait was long" to access such treatment in the east and there was frustration that she could not be transferred to a facility close to her home as "you have to go through another hospital in the west of Ireland, such as Ballinasloe".
Deputy Fitzmaurice complimented his constituency colleague, Dr Martin Daly, who assisted with the women's transfer to Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe, but described the process as "horrific".
The woman has since been transferred to Merlin Park hospital in Galway where Fitzmaurice told the Westmeath Independent she continues to make a good recovery, but he insisted there remained a need for "system change" and the "removal of red tape" to enable the transfer of patients from one HSE area to another to facilitate the necessary medical treatment.
"Forget about this particular incident, but it is a very sad day that you have to be a patient in a hospital in one particular HSE region to avail of treatment in another medical facility within that area," Deputy Fitzmaurice said.
Deputy Fitzmaurice complimented the quick reaction of the "paramedics and air ambulance" who brought the woman for treatment in Beaumont Hospital, but said without the help of Dr Daly she possibly would not have been in a position to return to Portiuncula Hospital initially.
"This woman needed rehabilitation and to be close to her partner and two young children.
“ However, the transfer from one health region to another proved problematic. I remember we were promised satellite rehabilitation units in a number of locations throughout the country quite some time ago, but these have yet to materialise," Deputy Fitzmaurice said.
The Deputy also credited An Tánaiste Simon Harris who confirmed to him that he would "ask the Minister for Health to engage with both Roscommon-Galway elected representatives on this woman's pathway of care and what can be done".
Deputy Fitzmaurice also said people who go through a traumatic injury should be able to avail of the necessary treatment at an "appropriate facility" no matter where the location.
"If you leave a person in a hospital that does not cater for something, then you are holding a bed that may be able to help someone else. It is a question of putting in resources around the country.
"If a person came from South Roscommon or elsewhere in the west, you would imagine that the likes of Beaumont could ring Merlin Park and ask it to facilitate this, but no. The Tánaiste might bring this to the Minister's attention. The systems here mean that you have to go to one place in a particular health region before you can jump into another place there. That is the problem," Deputy Fitzmaurice said.
The Deputy said he would continue to state his case on the issue when the Dáil resumes after its two week Easter break.