The mother of a 19-year-old Mayo man, on a life-support machine and waiting over a week for a bed in Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, so that he can be assessed for possible brain damage following a road accident, has criticised the Government's spending priorities. Eithne Donnellan, Health Correspondent, reports.
Mrs Mary Flynn, Kilkelly, Co Mayo, said it wasn't right that millions were being spent refurbishing O'Connell Street in Dublin when that money could buy equipment badly needed in some hospitals. "They should get their priorities right," she said.
Mrs Flynn was speaking on RTÉ yesterday after the plight of her son Christopher, critically injured in a road accident last month, was publicised.
Mr Danny Flynn said his son was crushed when the car in which he was a back-seat passenger went out of control and overturned. Christopher was hurled through the windscreen and the car landed on top of him. His ribs were crushed and his skull fractured. An initial scan found he had bruising on the brain.
Mr Flynn said when it was decided to transfer his son to Beaumont for a neurological assessment on January 6th he was told it would happen within 48 hours. However, his son is still waiting.
Beaumont Hospital, in a statement, said it expected to be able to accommodate Christopher in the very near future.
It added: "We understand that the patient's acute treatment has been satisfactorily provided by his local hospital, to which he was admitted on December 13th last.
"Because of his condition he will require a bed in the intensive care unit of our neurosurgical department while these assessments are carried out by the neurosurgery department and the hospital's rehabilitation team.
"His admission is being treated as a priority, not as an emergency".
The only neurosurgery units in the State are in Beaumont and at Cork University Hospital. As a result there is severe pressure on beds.
The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, said he did not want to comment as the matter had been clarified in the statement issued by Beaumont Hospital.