THE DAUGHTER of a 75-year-old man who was unable to get an ambulance at Kerry General Hospital in Tralee following an assault in the town said yesterday she was shocked at his treatment.
Her father Eamon Horan is a well-known sports journalist from Kerry.
Carla Horan said her father had been treated on a trolley in Kerry General Hospital and then told he would have to travel to Cork for further treatment.
She told RTÉ news: “We were told that he was not entitled to an ambulance as he had not been admitted to the hospital system.”
Ms Horan added that the family travelled to Cork at their own expense.
HSE South said in a statement that they could not discuss an individual patient’s care, but added: “If a patient requires specialist treatment in another hospital, the clinician decides if clinical care is required during the transfer. If such care is required then this is provided by the HSE ambulance service. If not, a taxi or the patient’s own family would transfer the patient.”
Mr Horan’s jawbone was broken and he suffered a fractured nose. A Garda spokesman said the serious assault was interrupted by a passing taxi driver and appeared to have been an attempted robbery.