A MEMBER of the Southern Health Board, who has been a patient in Cork's University Hospital, has advised patients to bring lots of toilet paper with them.
Mr Paddy Duffy, a chemist said he had been horrified by the conditions on floor 3A. He found ceiling tiles missing, draughty windows, no plugs in the sinks, badly designed showers, no toilet seats and the entire area shabby and derelict.
The wind coming through two broken windows in the day room was so bad that anybody sitting near them would have had to wear an overcoat. The only way of reducing the draught was to stuff the gap with toilet paper.
Toilet paper was also useful when trying to wash. "It was impossible to wash properly. The only solution was to use toilet paper as a plug, and even then that lasted only a few minutes. Toilet paper is the most essential material for anybody in 3A," he told a meeting of the health board yesterday in Cork.
A kerb surrounding the shower made access for anybody in a wheelchair impossible, while the strong jet of water blew out the light shower curtains, covering the floor in water, he added.
The hospital manager, Mr Tony McNamara, said they had spent £150,000 on fittings and furniture for a similar ward recently and did not have this to spend on 3A unless the Department of Health provided it.
But Mr Duffy said what was needed was a good handyman. "Forget about your £150,000 and send a good handyman up there to fix what is wrong," he advised.