Top surgeon slams hospital over lack of beds for critically ill

One of the country’s top vascular surgeons has lambasted the management of University Hospital Galway for failing to make enough staffed intensive care beds available for critically ill patients.

Professor Sherif Sultan was giving evidence at the inquest into the death of Joe Keane of Louisburg, Co Mayo, who died after being admitted for surgery for an abdominal aortic aneurysm or ballooning of the main blood artery.

After the initial consultation on March 7, 2014 in his outpatient clinic, Prof Sultan offered to admit the retired Mayo County Council worker immediately for surgery as a scan showed the aneurysm was at a critical size and at risk of rupture.

However, he suffered from an anxiety disorder and refused to be admitted. His wife managed to persuade him to agree to the surgery and the procedure was scheduled for March 25.

On that occasion the 67-year-old made it as far as the holding bay but when the patient before him ran into complications, his surgery was cancelled due to a lack of ICU (Intensive Care Unit) beds and nurses for post-operative care.

Two days later two emergencies took precedence leaving his procedure again delayed.

It took until June 16 for the surgery to be rescheduled due to the cancellation of elective procedures as well as a planned holiday by Mr Keane. When Prof Sultan eventually opened him up, there were signs of chronic infection.

The procedure to repair the wall which normally lasted 30 minutes took nearly 13 hours as the aortic walls had been turned to jelly by the bacteria E.coli and Citrobacter making it very difficult to attach the graft, he explained.

Under cross examination by John O’Donnell, barrister for the Keane family, Prof Sultan stressed that one of the things he could not control is the availability of beds.

“If you could see me go around to the general manager of the hospital . . . and have the door closed in my face. We are overstretched, underfunded and don’t have enough beds,” exclaimed the vascular consultant.

“I’m all the time on my phone for emergency cases. I operate all night to save my patients. I’m trying to fight for my patients – put more resources into the hospital, that’s the only way forward.”

Asked if the patient would have had a better outcome if operated on earlier, Prof Sultan said that was like looking into Pandora’s Box as there was no telling when he had developed the infection.

Mr Keane was given a triple dose of antibiotics to fight the bacteria but he died on July 24 last year.

The cause of death was pronounced as shock and haemorrhage due to abdominal aortic aneurysm following an attempted repair.

For more on this story, see the Connacht Tribune.