Four days on a trolley at Galway hospital – then €300 bill for a bed

A 53 year old Galway man who was admitted to UHG with viral pneumonia spent the next 96 hours on a trolley – and was then hit with a €300 bill for a bed he never saw.

That’s according to Galway Senator Fidelma Healy Eames, who revealed this week that the man spent four nights on a trolley in UHG.

“He spent 96 hours in a trolley and then to add insult to injury he got a bill for €300 for a bed, something he never had the luxury of having while in UHG. To say the least he is outraged,” she said.

“Two of these nights were spent in A&E and two in St. Mary’s ward – but all on a trolley. He described the experience in A&E, without sleep and hot food for more than two days, as horrendous. He said it was better in St. Mary’s ward because there at least he got hot food and there was less noise than the ‘drunken frenzy’ he experienced in A&E at the weekend.

“A trolley was particularly difficult for him due to the pain he experienced as a result of a lumbar puncture. A bed would have at least been ‘a bit more comfortable’ he told me,” she said.

The Independent Senator called on Health Minister Leo Varadkar to ‘open his ears to these human impact stories if he’s to come to grips with the scale of the problem’ and to know how to find solutions.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune