Taoiseach wants 'thorough investigation' into pensioner death at UHG
From this week's Galway City Tribune: An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said the death of a pensioner following an incident in the Emergency Department of University Hospital Galway (UHG) last month needs to be “investigated thoroughly” by Gardaí and hospital authorities.
A great grandmother (74) died some days after she was found on the floor of the ED at the city hospital early one morning in late September. Investigations are ongoing into claims the woman, originally from Connemara but living in the city, was thrown or flipped out of the trolley by a fellow patient.
The case – revealed by Galway City Tribune last Friday – was highlighted in Dáil Éireann on Tuesday by Galway West TD, Catherine Connolly (Ind).
The deceased woman – who had brittle bones – was admitted from Merlin Park to the UHG ED with a hospital-acquired infection. She spent 72 hours on a trolley in ED, including two full days in the corridor. It is alleged that a male patient, who may have been drunk and was described by one witness as “aggressive”, flipped her out of the trolley and onto the floor, where she lay for minutes before staff lifted her back onto the trolley.
Deputy Connolly said the family was never contacted at any point in relation to this fall, and never given an adequate explanation as to how the patient ended up “on the floor screaming in pain”.
It was her daughter who diagnosed she had a broken hip, but it took almost six hours before an x-ray was taken, during which time she was given no pain relief. The woman subsequently had hip surgery but never recovered and died some days later. “Understandably the family is distraught at the manner in which their mother was treated,” said Deputy Connolly.
During Leaders Questions, in response to queries from Deputy Connolly, Mr Varadkar said he was “sorry to hear about what happened to that lady, and my thoughts are with her family”.
“I have been informed that there is an investigation under way into this case. There is a Garda investigation and one by the hospital authorities. I do not think it would be appropriate for me or the Minister for Health to comment on an ongoing Garda investigation or one by the hospital authorities that is ongoing, but I absolutely agree that whatever happened in this case, the incident needs to be investigated thoroughly by the Garda if there is a criminal aspect to it – I understand there may be – and by the hospital authorities in respect of her medical care." This is a preview only. For the rest of this story, see this week's Galway City Tribune. Buy a digital edition of this week's paper here, or download the app for Android or iPhone.