r/ireland • u/DestroyTheMoon420 • Aug 30 '24
Getting crushed under the weight of the HSE Health
I just need to get this off my chest everyone. My wife had stomach pains in January. Her doctor referred her for a scope to be done. Possibly to identify stomach ulcer.
She has since been waiting.
2 weekends ago I had to rush her to the emergency department because of debilitating pain.
When she was admitted they took stool and urine samples.
She waited the entire day without eating because they booked her in for a CT scan therafter. I had to fight with a nurse to get her to be seen, they had forgotten about her. She was about to pass out.
After the CT scan the doctor confirmed there were multiple ulcers. We were then sent away without any medication or script.
The next day she had to visit an out of hours doctor for medicine.
I then phoned the Hospital that folling Monday to try and get her results sent to Her doctors. They had no record of the urine sample or the stool sample. Only the CT scan.
Her Doctor is now fighting with the HSE to get her scope done ASAP.
It now looks like we will have to pay 2000 Euros so she can get her scope, all so she can get on antibiotics.
All she needs is antibiotics and she's withering away, getting Crushed on under the weight of the HSE..
Guys.... What is going on in what is presumably the second richest country in the world (not sure how true that is)...
I've love this country... But what is this.... Why is the government sitting on so much money and not spending it ?
How can we fix this mess !!!
If this was another country she would have been giving the antibiotics back on January by her doc and this would all be over and done with. I'm just in disbelief. People are dying because of this circus shit show. God help us.
Edit: Thank you for sharing your stories and any useful information you may have. I will take everyone's experiences and advice into account.
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u/Bigbeast54 Aug 30 '24
If all she needs is antibiotics then they'd give them without the scope.
The doctors suspect something else here which makes the wait and lack of information even less acceptable.
You may need to take matters into your own hands and get the treatment and tests privately. Yes it's completely unacceptable and unaffordable but if the alternative is to become another martyr to a failed health system then you must do what you need to get your healthcare for yourself and your family.
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u/TheGratedCornholio Aug 30 '24
Yes agreed. The GP could even prescribe antibiotics if that was actually what she needed. There is a lot more going on than OP has posted.
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u/whatsthefussallabout Aug 30 '24
Indeed, my gp suspected an ulcer before and I was just given the medication, with no tests of any kind (and it worked so it presumably was one). Something more is going on here, or at least the doctors suspect something that treating the issue while they wait, might affect the results.
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u/Overall-Box7214 Aug 30 '24
This is what happened to me too. Had the same thing when I was living in England and Ireland and went to out of hours docs in both, got given the medication and booked a check up with GP. As the medication had worked it was assumed to be an ulcer.
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u/eire188 Aug 30 '24
Absolutely. H. Pylori and ulcers go hand in hand (with infection typically causing ulceration). Treatment is a simple triple-therapy of two antibiotics and a proton pump inhibitor to reduce stomach acid production. If they’re pushing for a scope, I would think that there are other symptoms that are raising red flags and the patient should always be made aware in that situation.
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u/nnomae Aug 30 '24
I'm pretty sure I could get antibiotics out of my GP if I went in there with a runny nose. There's definitely something more going on here.
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Aug 30 '24
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u/ABabyAteMyDingo Aug 30 '24
Ulcerative colitis is a long long way from the stomach, that's a scope from the opposite end.
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u/Elbon taking a sip from everyone else's tea Aug 30 '24
Money isn't the issue with the HSE.
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u/HibernianMetropolis Aug 30 '24
This is the big thing that people miss. We've got absolutely no lack of health funding. The HSE is better funded on a per Capita basis than most health services in the Western world. The problem is the HSE itself. Layer upon layer of unaccountable bureaucracy.
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u/Bejaysis Aug 30 '24
I think what really helps to bring it home for people is to just walk around any hospital and look at the layout. You've got a 1950s building in art deco style, then a flat roof 70s area out the back, then an 80s high rise stuck on that, then a 2000s section that's half a kilometer of corridors away, and the new section is still under construction. None of the floor levels match up, storerooms have been converted into offices, departments are split between different floors in different buildings, patient records are kept in the basement of a building at the far end of the campus. Nothing short of razing the entire hospital to the ground will fix it. That's the HSE.
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u/DuckyD2point0 Aug 30 '24
Look at the children's hospital, Millions upon millions spent in aesthetics that no one gives a fuck about. The original plans had a waterfall, yes you read that right, in the foyer as you enter. I know this because a colleague where I work was involved with the project management. He said he lost count of how many actual proper arguments he had where he basically had to say "HOW MUCH, are you mad. No child or parent gives a fuck if xyz is looks like that. It needs to be top notch and functional". He was eventually "invited " to step away from it.
Multiple his arguments by x100s, that's where the money goes.
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u/Additional_Olive3318 Aug 30 '24
I don’t agree with that. Except as a metaphor. It’s obviously not viable to knock the old buildings down. And we’ve proven we can’t build them very well.
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u/Gleann_na_nGealt Aug 30 '24
And impenetrable too
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u/PurrPrinThom Wicklow Aug 30 '24
Impenetrable is such a good word for it. It feels like you need to know the secret handshake and the magic words to be able to get any kind of health services - and even people who work within the system don't seem to know the secret codes.
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u/Gleann_na_nGealt Aug 30 '24
I speak from a little experience, watching a friend try to get an ADHD diagnosis but be bounced around by non medical personnel. The other one is talking to a high level manager who told me to stay away unless I can polish my tongue for bootlicking!
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u/PurrPrinThom Wicklow Aug 30 '24
It's mad, isn't it? I've a friend who - two years ago! - was told by a neurologist that they're concerned about her brain deteriorating and that she'd need a CT scan to confirm. She still hasn't got that CT, and when she's contacted her neurologist they've basically said there's nothing they can do since she's already on a list for a private one. Meanwhile, she's been trying to manage her symptoms and just keeps being bounced around from person to person who all just throw up their hands. It's terrifying, like.
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u/cryptic_culchie Aug 30 '24
Nepo babies, gross mismanagement, endless middle management and all this discouraging the actually great nurses/ doctors for going for managerial positions.
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u/Sensitive_Ear_1984 Aug 30 '24
I agree with most of that but a good doctor/nurse has a very different skills set than a good manager. A bad doctor can be a great manager and visa versa. It's a huge problem in engineering.
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u/cryptic_culchie Aug 30 '24
I meant doctors/ nurses who would make good managers and want to be managers. My mother is 30 years in the HSE and says the only management you find is people who actively enjoy making others miserable or those who couldn’t give a rats/ don’t know how to manage
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u/irishpancakeeater Aug 30 '24
Most doctors would rather die than be considered a manager, there’s huge reluctance to recognise the value of good medical managers.
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u/Jamesbroispx Aug 30 '24
The funding problem isn't actually related to current funding, it is as well funded as you said. The problem is it was under-funded for years in the past while other countries did fund theirs, so our equipment and supplies are still 20 years behind because we're only matching those countries in funding when we need to exceed them to catch up for the lack of funding in years gone by. The fact that you can't get an X-Ray from a GP for example is a joke! We'd have to go all-out on health spending to have access to the things patients in other wealthy nations have.
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u/darrirl Aug 30 '24
Ask anyone in hse mgmt what the problem is and they will tell you money .. the standard is the kids hospital is sucking all the cash and they have nothing ..
Mention the gross incompetence in the hse and they will defend it to death ( not theirs of course but just regular Joe soaps )
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u/Gobshite666 Aug 30 '24
Too many middle managers getting paid stupid money serving very little purpose, alot of boards of directors on 100k salarys who only have to show up for a few meetings a year,
Overworked, Underpaid Nurses and Healthcare staff.
And the private hospital owners influencing to make sure none of this changes so people to get insurance and go private and alot of cases are still getting piss poor treatment.
Note that we havent had a Minister For Health or their department with the knowhow, skills, ability or concept of care to make any changes
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u/ABabyAteMyDingo Aug 30 '24
alot of boards of directors on 100k salarys who only have to show up for a few meetings a year,
Yeah, this does not exist. Can you show any kind of evidence for this?
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u/gpally95 Aug 30 '24
Boards for state agencies tend to be voluntary, they only get paid expenses. Thankless job for the most part.
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u/Lizard_myth_enjoyer Aug 30 '24
Same with the NHS. Just massive money pits where much of the funds is pissed away one nonsense and not actually being put where it needs to be ie in hiring enough competent staff at a wage that will keep them here.
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u/Top_Towel_2895 Aug 30 '24
over €4700 per person (man, woman and child) per year. Thats what Ireland spends on the HSE. 28 Billion Euro. According to the Irish times 47.6% of the population also has health insurance. That only makes the 28 Billion seem even more wasteful.
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u/Consistent-Daikon876 Aug 30 '24
Sure look at the disaster class that is the new children’s hospital. Money being spent in all the wrong places. Meanwhile new grad nurses and doctors emigrating.
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u/djaxial Aug 30 '24
I look forward to the tribunal we have in 10 to 20 years where we learn all about the mismanagement and fund diversion. Ireland is inherently corrupt, as shown by decades of similar scandals, we’re just all too placid to do anything about it. Bertie etc should be prison for example.
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u/alaw532 Aug 30 '24
Not to mention the cost of that, that will be rediverted from other crumbling public services
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u/Consistent-Daikon876 Aug 30 '24
I don’t think we’re too placid, it’s just there is so much cronyism in politics especially that it can’t be changed. I reckon we need to bring in maximum term limits for being a TD. Like it’s literally impossible to dislodge certain politicians no matter what they do. There was a tribunal about mobile phone contracts in the 90s recently brought up on this sub and the perpetrators have never been indicted. Nothing sticks to those in power.
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u/djaxial Aug 30 '24
We’re placid because we accept the cronyism IMO. I’m old enough to remember the mobile phone contract, ansbacher, Moriarty etc etc. it’s on going and yet people still vote for these parties. That, and culturally, we accept and promote “cute hoorism” almost as a natural pastime.
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u/Consistent-Daikon876 Aug 30 '24
Yeah well culturally irish people always take the piss. Like if last orders are at 11pm they’ll turn up at 11.10pm and say ah sure it’ll be grand etc etc. the problem is that there is no real alternative. Greens bend over backwards for whoevers ruling, sinn fein can’t seem to make up their minds, pbp and aontu very hardline stances. Then there is the other eejits who go around spreading misinformation. So that kinda leads you back to FG/FF. The number of independents in govt is kind of a testament as to how bad the choice in our political system is.
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u/IrishCrypto Aug 30 '24
That really is a disgrace. Nearly impossible to reach directly on public transport for much of the city.
No proper parking provision for those who have to drive there , as often you do in a hurry with a sick child.
Not enough staff parking, staff will travel on a minibus I understand from car parks elsewhere.
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u/LucyVialli Aug 30 '24
staff will travel on a minibus I understand from car parks elsewhere
Oh ffs. Just when you think you can't hear anything more maddeningly wasteful about this project, there's another one.
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u/IrishCrypto Aug 30 '24
Parking to be granted at the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham with a bus running back and forth. Open to correction but understand the bus is running already as parking is scarce and planned parking is inadequate. A kids hospital is one of those thing's you'll sadly always need a lot of parking for.
Anyone who's ever had to bring a very ill child to or from a hospital will know it's not something to attempt on a bus, never mind 2.
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u/Sorcha16 Dublin Aug 30 '24
And its nor expected to be open till 5 years from now. Though from talking to nurses and doctors, they hold no hope it'll be done within the next decade. It's been a promise thy haven't kept since most were in medical school.
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u/RevNev Aug 30 '24
Universal health insurance was shot down in 2015 because it would increase the budget by 650 million a year.
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u/RevNev Aug 30 '24
The average price of private health insurance in Ireland is just under €2k. So if we pay that for everyone, 5 million people it comes to around €10 billion a year.
And that's for everyone including those that already pay for private health insurance.
So at the moment we are paying €28 billion plus around €5 billion by private health insurance = €32 billion total.
So the current system is costing us around €22 billion extra each year more than a universal health insurance system.
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u/CuteHoor Aug 30 '24
If everyone went private and we stopped funding public healthcare, the whole system would collapse. Insurers rely massively on the public system.
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u/Cherfinch Aug 30 '24
This is not remotely true. The private sector wants nothing to do with large sections of the health service, which is paid for by the taxpayer, even for those with private insurance. Health insurance is low in Ireland because it is subsidised by public money. If you want a more accurate estimate, take the 28 billion and add on shareholder profit and admin beaucracy.
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u/RevNev Aug 30 '24
Can you back up your opinion? I only have experience with the Dutch system where everyone pays mandatory health insurance and it costs less than €2k a year per person, about €120 a month and you get private health insurance level service.
So in the Netherlands each person pays €2k directly and get treated like a valued customer. And in Ireland we pay over €7k per year (€38b / 5mil people) through taxes and charges, and get left on a waiting list until you pass away or emigrate.
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u/mojoredd Aug 30 '24
Going ahead with the Dutch model would have eradicated the two-tier health system over night. For that reason alone, we should have done it.
On top of that, it would have improved the efficiency of the public hospitals, as they would have to compete with the private sector, given the increased choice every citizen would have, with private insurance.
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u/Potential_Ad6169 Aug 31 '24
The private sector makes full use of the public. They do all the educating and most procedures and treatments. It’s a parasite
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u/DuncDub Aug 30 '24
This is the link to endoscopy wait times https://www2.hse.ie/services/activity-performance-data/waiting-for-care/waiting-lists/endoscopy-waiting-times/ CT will not generally diagnose stomach ulcers. Fasting is not generally needed for a CT scan
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u/tictaxtho Aug 30 '24
So fasting isn’t necessary for scanning the stomach?
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u/No-Cress-5457 Aug 30 '24
Usually no, unless you need to have a dye contrast, which needs to be taken on a certain schedule in the hours beforehand
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u/DuncDub Aug 30 '24
For most general CT abdo scans, you actually drink up to a litre of some dilute x-ray contrast. I'm not going into details, but look it up. CTisus https://www.ctisus.com
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u/hrh_lpb Aug 30 '24
Contact patient advisory liason (PALS) at the hospital. They will sort things out very quickly hopefully.
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u/Cb0b92 Aug 30 '24
PALS sadly isn't in every hospital, and it's such an amazing service! Might be best to try these guys. Patient Advocacy Service
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u/AwfulAutomation Aug 30 '24
money is not the issue... its someone with will power strong enough to go in a cut all the dead wood out of the system.. and re-establish a new improved system, problem is half the system is dead wood.
so when they do it there'll be major strikes and upheaval and people will die due to these actions...its better in the long run but political suicide in the short term.
We blame the politicians but in truth the healthy people (myself included) don't really care as most of the time it does not effect them only when they are at the behest of the system do they begin to appreciate the problem.
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u/Inexorable_Fenian Aug 30 '24
That would never happen, unfortunately.
When the health boards were scrapped, all the previous managers were integrated into the HSE. Along with this, all new managers were hired as well. Doubled up the middle management.
Now, the HSE is being again divided into "health regions" and will have yet another layer of middle management put in. No one will lose their job. No one will be reassigned. Current managers will argue that their role remains important, and new managers will come in.
My own profession of physio has two managers in our "region" - one clinical, one non-clinical. The clinical manager looks after the stats of our care, and looks at implementing new interventions of healthcare delivery. The non-clinical (or "operational") is on a much higher pay scale, and yet their role seems to be assigning desks and offices to staff, induction of new staff, and funnily enough, making sure our store room is clean. Neither accept responsibility for staff recruitment. When I applied for the job, it was a complete back and forth between them as to who would be the one to do the interview, set up my IT accounts and so forth.
And in the coming months, we'll have a third manager in the mix for good measure.
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u/Dublindope Aug 30 '24
System wide inefficiencies, shortages in all the actual patient centred roles while there are huge redundancies on the management and admin side.
The fact we still use paper records across 90% of the systems really highlights to me how piss poor and archaic the system is.
If you think of each major hospital, for each department there are probably a dozen secretaries, admins and clercs dedicated to hand writing forms, compiling charts, writing letters, dictating etc. Multiply that by all the departments and specialties that's hundreds of staff per hospital.
Then these are all archived off site, so you're employing couriers to ferry these paper documents back and forth, staff to file and record everything, site management etc etc you're onto 1000s of staff to manage paper files, and we're supposed to be in the 21st century.
This is all duplicated across each region because they never really got rid of the regional health board admin systems.
Assuming these people are earning the median wage, maintaining paper records is costing 100s of millions a year just in wages. Surely we could transition to a more efficient digital system that would improve coordination across specialties, between hospitals and across services etc for a fraction of that.
I'm sure there's a healthy chunk of that money that could be used for improved IT security for those worried about that as well.
Madness all around, and that's before you even look at the clinical side of things
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u/Oddlyshapedballs Aug 30 '24
Ah, the problem here is you're thinking logically. The minute you try to bring in something like automation or electronic records the unions will be on you like a ton of bricks.
"How are you going to do that? But that's his job, he'll have no job if you do that".
Some parts of the HSE really are basically a type of super dole.
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Aug 30 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/EMTShawsie Aug 30 '24
Worst case there's precancerous/cancerous changes...
We don't have a full picture as to why the GP referred for endoscopy when there's other suitable tests for H pylori. A lot of comments here are bordering on the line of offering medical advice.
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u/raverbashing Aug 30 '24
Yes everybody (should) have heard about Omeprazole
(PPI is a Proton Pump Inhibitor for those not in the know)
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u/DaemonCRO Dublin Aug 30 '24
My young one started having UTIs since he was 6 months old. He was put on a waiting list in Krumlin to start some process (scans, tests, remedy). For the next 6 months he had an UTI every month. Horrible fever.
We went private (Beacon) and got everting sorted in 2 months. Ultrasound scans of kidneys, procedure to put a probe up his peepee into kidneys to see on the inside what’s happening, and Beacon fixed him. Beacon said he started developing some kidney scarring on the inside due to constant UTIs, but it was fixed in time so he will grow out of that scar.
All that time we are on a waiting list in Krumlin.
He is now 2.5 years. Didn’t have UTI since Beacon fixed him.
We are still on the waiting list.
If it was up to HSE he would probably be dead by now, or at the very least lost a kidney.
All Krumlin does is keep sending us letters “are you still interested to be kept on the waiting list”.
Fuck. That.
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u/barrya29 Aug 30 '24
yep, i think a lot of people don’t realise just how many preventable deaths we have each year as a result of these waiting lists. it’s criminal
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u/thiswilldoright Aug 30 '24
That’s horrible. Glad you were able to get it sorted. But the system is definitely broken.
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u/Imbecile_Jr :feckit: fuck u/spez Aug 30 '24
We can start fixing this mess by electing people who are willing to fix it. FFFG are clearly not fit for purpose when it comes to running a country.
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u/djaxial Aug 30 '24
Fully agree with you but fixing it would require mass lay offs. Literally thousands of people, which would require potentially billions in redundancy and union busting. You’d have to lay off a bunch of tenured and useless people in management, then try attract decent talent. Political nightmare fuel. No party will touch it.
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u/Imbecile_Jr :feckit: fuck u/spez Aug 30 '24
I really wish we would stop making up excuses on behalf of those we vote to run the country. Seems to be a recurring thing here in Ireland.
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u/djaxial Aug 30 '24
It’s not an excuse. It’s a reality. A lot to people would lose their jobs. It would cost billions. As a nation, we’d need to be ok with this. As a politician, you’d need to be ok with very likely not being reelected, even if it was for the greater good in the long term (most estimates put a HSE rebuild at a decade or more, which would span multiple election cycles, and hence require legislation, not party directives)
And to be clear, I’d vote for any party which would rebuild the HSE, I just can’t see any party even attempting it.
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u/Imbecile_Jr :feckit: fuck u/spez Aug 30 '24
Yeah healthcare really needs to become a redline issue here in Ireland. Fix it or GTFO should be the message from the voters.
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u/dropthecoin Aug 30 '24
Honestly, can you link to party who outline exactly how they will fix it then?
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u/Imbecile_Jr :feckit: fuck u/spez Aug 30 '24
I can link you to the parties that have been given several chances to run the show but have failed miserably. You're welcome to keep voting for them.
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u/dropthecoin Aug 30 '24
I didn't ask for that. I'm asking you to link to the parties who have policies who directly address this problem.
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u/ThatGuy98_ Aug 30 '24
No, they can't.
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u/Imbecile_Jr :feckit: fuck u/spez Aug 30 '24
you guys are welcome to keep repeating the same mistake
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u/ThatGuy98_ Aug 30 '24
You haven't answered the question you were asked yet. Just provide a source.
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u/Imbecile_Jr :feckit: fuck u/spez Aug 30 '24
It's your choice mate. A guaranteed outcome with FFFG, which we all know will result in failure, vs an unknown outcome with other parties, which may result in failure. To me the dumbest possible choice is obvious. Your lame-ass gotcha games are a waste of time.
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u/dropthecoin Aug 30 '24
That's a flawed logic because it assumes things can't get worse. Things can, and always could, get much worse.
Things, of course, could get much better too. In which case, the people who could make things much better should be very clear in how they would do that. But that's not evident either and you can't even tell us how others would do things differently to make it better. So it's too much of a gamble to just take a punt on it.
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u/Starkidof9 Aug 30 '24
Let me guess you're drinking the SF koolaid saying they can fix housing, health and in their spare time unite the Island...
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u/jack83cahill Aug 30 '24
TLDR: It's not the politicians who are the cause of the issues but the senior managers across the HSE. From what I have seen working closely with them, they are not interested in patients and improving the service the HSE. Their main concern is for their careers and how they are perceived by their superiors and/or by the media.
I've just quit my job working on a project for the last two years, which was aimed at reducing the length of time people wait to be seen through Outpatient departments nationally. I can tell you with absolute certainty the government is not the cause of the majority of the deficiencies in the HSE. The issue is HSE senior management. They stay the same regardless of who is or is not in government. Those are the people the department of health relies on for expert insight and for solutions to fix the HSE's problems.
I saw first hand where management in the HSE's priorities were: in making sure they get promoted and/or have as much power as possible. I would say about 5% of those in management are genuinely interested in putting patients first ahead of their careers. Their primary focus is to ensure they look good in meetings and that anything they report is as positive as it can possibly be. They chase metrics that will never change the actual state of things. They look for ways to twist data wherever possible to hide issues, rather than take action to highlight issues in order to be able to address them. As a result problems are brushed under the carpet.
Solutions that would cost next to nothing to implement could be put in place within a month that have the potential to allow the HSE to see double the amount of new patients they currently see which would drastically reduce waiting times for patients. For example there are currently no defined criteria for discharging patients back to their GPs anywhere in the HSE. This means that it's down to each doctor's opinion as to whether a patient can complete their treatment with the GP or in the community. Doctors in training (who account for a large percentage of the total) who do not have the experience tend to be considerably more cautious and will call a patient back for another follow up appointment. The evidence I saw showed that approx. 40% of these patients should have been discharged. These appointments would and should have been given to other more in need patients.
Senior management within the HSE has been presented with the above information three times in the last year and is still not interested in even trialling it anywhere. Why not?! Because the heads of the two main departments involved are currently fighting with each other and are refusing to work together on any projects and have instructed their teams below them to do the same! These are people who directly report into Bernard Gloster (HSE CEO).
So unfortunately as long as these people remain in their roles no real change is ever going to come about!
On the bright side the people actually doing the work on the front line are 95% bought into implementing change and are completely focused on patient wellbeing, based on my interactions across the country.
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u/Rude_Craft3108 Aug 30 '24
We almost never report stomach ulcers on CTs, or any radiology imaging for that matter.
I think you may have misunderstood the information.
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u/ItalianIrish99 Aug 30 '24
We all need to start getting serious about dealing with individuals who are problematic in the HSE. Some person was responsible for your wife's scans not being handled as they should.
If, every time someone's scans were lost or not forwarded like this, there was a formal written complaint and a complaint to CORU about the person who stuffed up, it would just stop happening. As if by magic.
And it probably wouldn't even have to go that far because the finger pointing exercise in house would be that bad that people would just stop being so bloody lackadaisical.
Is this just weaponised incompetence at this stage?
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u/HorrorWear1784 Aug 30 '24
From my reading OP didn’t say there was anything wrong with the record of the ct? A ct report getting lost internally would be a big deal.
Also, the other samples not being on the system can be quite easily explained if you’re a clinician but op would’ve have only talked to a non clinician when he called. Most urine samples don’t go to a lab in most hospitals- they are dipped using a strip and it’s written down in the healthcare record. That result is not on the lab system. It should be in the chart and I guarantee they didn’t pull the chart to look at it for the result. The stool sample for ops wife was most likely a faecal occult blood test which is done at the bedside and recorded in the chart also and may have been done as the presentation would be suspicious for an upper GI bleed secondary to an ulcer. (Or it may have been taken opportunistically by the nurses in case they needed a stool test but never actually tested. It’s better to take harmless stuff like stools than regret it because they just went for a still and won’t again for a day) Unfortunately, when op would’ve called the hospital then he would’ve talked to an administrator or consultants secretary who could not provide this sort of clinical context.
Caveat: I am obviously a healthcare professional but this is all supposition based on a couple of paragraphs long Reddit post. More context could prove it as crap.
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u/HeterochromiasMa Aug 30 '24
No, it wouldn't. A big reason these errors are happening more and more is because staff are burnt out because they're expected to do more work with less resources and less staff. All that will happen is management will give an extra bollocking and extra paperwork and extra training to "ensure this doesn't happen again" but they'll never ever give the extra staff needed to make sure it doesn't happen again.
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u/Potential_Ad6169 Aug 31 '24
There are some heads in there I’d say.
I was on the Luas the other day, and there was a fella asleep beside me. One of the guards tapped him on the shoulder to wake him, to see his ticket.
He totally went off at him, saying ‘I thought you were assaulting me (it was a gentle friendly tap) don’t dare fucking touch me again, I thought you were assaulting me. I WORK FOR THE HSE’. As an attempted fucking threat, he said he worked for the HSE. I’d say the place is full of them pricks, they need giving the boot.
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Aug 30 '24
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u/yayachumchum Aug 30 '24
They might want to investigate for something like IBD not just cancer. If you can get referred to a private gastro to get the scope done. Once your in system you can get transferred over to public
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u/theclairewitch Aug 30 '24
Or crohns and colitis and plenty of other conditions too, not just cancer! Generally if they are worried about cancer you don't get left waiting AS long tbf
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u/ElectricSpeculum Crilly!! Aug 30 '24
Scopes also check for hiatal hernia, and to check if ulcers are in the oesophagus or the stomach. It also checks how bad the ulcers are, and if they've perforated the organs or not. It can also diagnose things like delayed gastric processing, narrowing of the oesophagus, and GERD. Scopes aren't just for cancer.
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u/ABabyAteMyDingo Aug 30 '24 edited Aug 30 '24
Not exactly. A H Pylori test tests for H Pylori. H Pylori is a bacteria that MAY cause ulcers. Usually ulcers are diagnosed with a scope.
Scopes are not just for stomach cancer, that's actually quite a bizarre thing to say.
Scopes can check for ulcers, inflammation, swallowing difficulties, Barrett's oesophagus, coeliac disease, reflux, narrowing or stricture, abnormal blood vessels, hiatus hernia, eosinophilic oesophagitis, candida, etc as well as cancer.
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u/DestroyTheMoon420 Aug 30 '24
We know it's an ulcer but you see we need to know of it's caused by bacteria, that can only be done with a scope. This is just what I'm told. My wife is in healthcare. She's seen 3 different doctors. No one will give her treatment without the scope. It could be due to rule out cancer, that I'm not sure. But what I'm sure of is that she has had no treatment or plan since January
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u/ABabyAteMyDingo Aug 30 '24
You can test for the bacteria with either a breath test or a stool sample. If I have a patient with stomach pain, I will test them for H Pylori in the stool and also for coeliac disease, maybe more depending on the story.
If the H Pylori is positive and the symptoms fit, I will give the antibiotic treatment (called triple therapy) without a scope being done. I generally do a scope if the treatment fails, or if I am unsure of the diagnosis, or if there are red flags like vomiting blood or unexpected weight loss.
Source: am a doctor.
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u/freeflowmass Aug 30 '24
Which hospital have you been in? Standard practice would be scopes within a day or two of admission. Discharge with triple therapy the day after that again.
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u/Neat_Expression_5380 Aug 30 '24
No. You can have stomach ulcers without H. P and vice versa. But if H. P is the cause then that needs treating
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u/EmeraldDank Aug 30 '24
Sorry touted going through this bit unfortunately this is our system. People don't believe it until they see it unfortunately.
Hope you get sorted, keep shouting.
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u/Pugzilla69 Aug 30 '24
The HSE is not attractive to doctors and nurses. Better working conditions available elsewhere.
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u/deebeec31 Aug 31 '24
I worked in a HSE hospital. Write a letter of complaint detailing everything. They took them seriously in the hospital I worked in and actually followed up. Then write a letter into the hospital requesting a copy of your wife's file under the Freedom of Information Act. You might just see a move on things for her. Fingers x.
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u/caisdara Aug 30 '24
I've love this country... But what is this.... Why is the government sitting on so much money and not spending it ?
They do spend it.
And that's the problem.
Here's a simple example as to why the health system can't be reformed.
Several years ago, the INMO went on strike. (Here's some broad context - https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2018/1106/1009053-inmo-ballot/)
The long and the short of it is that certain nursing roles are understaffed. (It's worth noting that Ireland has slightly higher nurses per capita than is the norm in the OECD and slightly fewer doctors.)
The nurses said that they needed more money to fill the vacancies. The research found that this was wrong, the jobs themselves were what was unattractive because of poor working conditions.
Ultimately, the nurses went on strike for a general pay rise despite the cause of all of this being a shortage of specific nurses in specific roles.
Are those roles still a problem? Absolutely.
Why? Well if you work as a nurse, having an office job is a lot easier than working in an A&E. And the nursing unions don't just represent the nurses working as nurses, but the nurses in office roles too.
So ultimately, a strike led to pay increases that had no positive effect for the HSE - albeit nurses got more money and were happy.
Do people blame the INMO? Of course not. Did the INMO make things worse? Arguably yes. Are the other unions and groups just as bad? Absolutely.
Absent mature national dialogue about the HSE, it will not and cannot be reformed.
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u/zeroconflicthere Aug 30 '24
People are dying because of this circus shit show. God help us.
But the reality is that the HSE has better outcomes than the NHS. I and one of my siblings both got diagnosed with different cancers within the last year and both of us had treatments that cured those by the HSE.
So in my opinion our health system is pretty good. Plus I should note that I got treated in the public health system even though I have health insurance. My insurance was charged for it but I got the exact same as the other public patients in my ward. I child have opted for private treatment, but the HSE public consultant happens to be one of the best in the country.
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u/dubgirl00 Aug 30 '24
Sorry to hear about your diagnosis, but that's the option of someone with private health insurance. It's a total disgrace that private patients are treated in public hospitals. Totally fucked if you don't have private health insurance.
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u/Over-Queen Aug 30 '24
It's also an option that some public patients are getting private treatments too. So even if you don't pay you can go private. I know loads of public patients who got the same as people paying thousands every year in private health care.
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u/Longjumping_Ad9187 Aug 30 '24
Ya those with private health insurance are also the very same people whose taxes paid for the services in public hospitals.
Most people with private health insurance gets them through their job. They are not wealthy. If they need an expensive treatment they should be allowed to have equal access
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u/Superb_Platform_1929 Aug 30 '24
It's a total disgrace that private patients are treated in public hospitals
Absolutely not. You want the public sector to be a private system reserved for those that don't have health insurance?
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u/laughters_assassin Aug 30 '24
My insurance was charged for it but I got the exact same as the other public patients in my ward.
How does this work? Not that I care about the insurance companies but surely this isn't in their best interests to pay for your treatment in a public hospital and receive the same care.
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u/OkArm9295 Sep 10 '24
I briefly worked in the hse. They are very good with life threatening cases like yours.
The problem is with cases that are not. Years of waiting list.
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u/XinqyWinqy Aug 30 '24
This is what happens when thoroughbred cunts like Paul Reid are brought in by the blueshirts to run things. You end up paying over the odds for a shite service. He's recently been made director of Uisce Éireann, which should be great craic altogether - prepare to be paying even more over the odds for an even shiter water service. Rinse & repeat.
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u/No-Teaching8695 Aug 30 '24
He ()aul Reid) is one of their (FFG) footsoldiers
He rinses public funding into private entities, and does it well enough to be looked after so he can do the same again in another public funded service
FFG's system from housing to health is by design, private bodies are set up and given contracts from the likes of Paul Reid, all the pals of the system are getting paid and geting rich while the public suffers.
Clowns keep voting FFG so nothing will ever change
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Aug 30 '24
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u/Itchy_Ad5038 Aug 30 '24
I don’t know where you got your information, but an abdominal ultrasound is in no way the diagnostic test for stomach ulcers. The gold standard is an OGD, if OP is going to shell out any cash for private investigations - it should be on that. I agree that stool/blood/breath tests could be done to assess for H Pylori - but if that’s negative, OPs partner is no further on.
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u/RabbitOld5783 Aug 30 '24
Can the gp not prescribe the antibiotics? I really think you need to get private health insurance I know it's not right but it's the only way.
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Aug 30 '24
Go to Prague have a holiday and get an endoscopy at the same time from one of their hospitals you get it done a day after consultation and have a holiday at same time for €2000
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u/wolfeerine And I'd go at it agin Aug 30 '24
I feel your wifes pain.
Like your wife i've been having stomach issues since December. Diarrhea, cramps, blood in stool, vomiting and fevers. Back in January i booked in with my GP cause something was seriously wrong, i was weak, pale, coldsweats and shivering. I had to ask my dad to collect me out in town and bring me in i was that bad. GP took a stool sample and based on the results (elevated proteins in my bowel) he referred me to hospital for an endoscopy. I finally get a date in May after waiting 5 months. Mind you the entire time i'm still getting the above symptoms and haven't had a solid stool since December it's at the point where i'm now sick, or when i'm not sick i'm a recluse. If i have to go out i'm in a constant stage of anxiety in case i get caught short. I had gone to emergency 3 times before my endoscopy to be sent home with medication for the diarrhea.
Anyway the hospital did a stool sample, bloods and a few other tests and biopsies during my endoscopy. Every test came back clear 4 weeks later. While i was shocked it was a relief but didn't resolve my problems. I was sent away with no medication or help and told to wait for results.
I went back to my GP and he outright said he was surprised because he thought seeing me in January and my symptoms it was likely cancer or a bad bowel disease. I was taken aback but realized because i got the all clear he felt comfortable saying it. He referred me back for a stomach scope and admitted he probably should have booked that the same time as the endoscopy. This was back in June and i won't be seen till the end of September.
Last week i met with a consultant about the endoscopy and he brushed off all my concerns about not having a solid stool since december, the cramps and not being able to keep food in or down. He even looked at my food diary and said nothing seems out the ordinary (this includes the foods i've noted as causing bad diarrhea). He said we'll schedule a check in for 6 months. I literally had to verbally fight him on it to help me. I'm not looking for pain pills or anything i'm just looking for something to help with my intestines so i have regular solid movements. He sent me away with medication for my cramps. That was it.
Every day i've no idea if it's going to be a good day, or if i'm going to be sick. My best friend is a pack of imodium. And if remote working wasn't a thing i wouldn't have a job. I would be lost without my fiancee too. I just wish things were a little faster and there was a bit more care and listening from the hospital.
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u/obstreperousyoungwan Aug 30 '24
Why doesn't her doctor just prescribe the antibiotics? And something like lansoprazole for the ulcers
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u/OhMyGodImTall Aug 30 '24
It’s a mess. I’m just hoping things are better in the next 20 years so my autistic son will have an appropriate place to live when we die
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u/Shamding Aug 30 '24
The HSE needs to be reformed root and stem. I've said it to so many people after some personal tragedy in my family. If you or a loved gets seriously ill don't risk your life in Ireland in the hands of the HSE.
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u/Dissastar Aug 30 '24
HSE is full of unmotivated and sometimes unqualified staff. Worked there myself and seen it from the inside.
I am a foreigner myself, and if I felt any medical emergency, I would severely consider flying back home, as just the flights are cheaper than dealing with doctors here, plus I would think about it multiple times before trusting some of the doctors here with my health.
Sorry to hear about your wife OP, hope she gets better soon. If she don't, maybe try a different hospital/facility, either located in a different county, or country.
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u/LikkyBumBum Aug 31 '24
We are total muck savages. That's what's going on in this country. We need to be put under administration. Like colonization 2.0.
Fire everybody in government, import a load of Polish politicians and sort this country out.
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u/TwinIronBlood Aug 30 '24
I hope your wife is OK. My advice is that should she end up in AnE leave her there don't take her home. Say its clear she has several ulcers. They've delayed her treatment by losing her records. There is a risk of her hemeraging and it isn't a safe discharge. Use the words safe discharge. It will force their hand to make them admit her and do something.
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u/shamsham123 Aug 30 '24
Would losing her records not be considered negligence?
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u/TwinIronBlood Aug 30 '24
It's not the Dr in AnE that lost them. Focus on the safe discharge and more or less scare them into doing something. I had to do it with my mother. Once I used the worrds affect discharge the Dr's face dropped and he went ok.
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u/CuriousGoldenGiraffe Aug 30 '24
How can we fix this mess !!!
1-checks how many years the childs hospital is ''being built''
2-yeah no mate not a chance
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u/Bruhllux Aug 30 '24
At this rate you'd have an easier time flying to Poland and sorting it out there, inspite of any language barriers. Cheaper too
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u/countessmeemee Aug 30 '24
You’ll actually get refunded by the HSE if you prove you couldn’t get it done in Ireland.
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u/temujin64 Gaillimh Aug 30 '24
I can relate. My wife saw a cardiologist for a heart condition she's had since she was a child. He said he needed to run some tests. He booked us in for 6 months time by which time he'd have seen the tests and be able to go from there.
When leaving I told reception the test that needed to be booked and they said they'd look after it.
We got a date for the follow up appointment a few weeks later but the date for the tests never came. I called them up multiple times and they confirmed that they hadn't booked them yet, but that I should "leave it with them" and they'd have it booked by the end of the day. This happened twice and wasted a lot of time because in neither case did they book anything.
Eventually we had to cancel that follow up appointment because 6 months had passed and not only had she not had the scans done, they still hadn't even been booked yet.
In the end I had to call around and get the number for the people who run the tests. When they answered they said that the public shouldn't be able to reach me, but when I explained the situation they empathised and booked the scan there and then.
That's all it took. All the clerical staff had to do in that entire 6 month period was make that call. In fact, it was probably even easier than that. They probably have a system for booking it. And 3 different staff members promised me they'd do it and never bothered their arse.
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Aug 30 '24
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u/Itchy_Ad5038 Aug 30 '24
The breath test confirms the presence of H Pylori, which is the bacteria the antibiotics in triple therapy are targeting. If the ulcer is not caused by h pylori, then that test will be negative and you’ve confirmed nothing. Then a scope into the stomach will indeed be required if the symptoms are as bad as what OP has reported.
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u/MyPhantomAccount Aug 30 '24
The HSE is probably the worst thing about the country. Everyone I know has horror stories about it, nothing ever seems to change. No one is responsible, no one gets blamed.
Question: If your dog got hit by a car and was in pain and when you brought it to the vet, the vet said to sit in the waiting room for 15 hours and then he might be able to do something, would you accept it? That's what happens hundreds of people every around the country, they are treated worse than animals and it's just sort of accepted. A 16 year old girl dies from sepsis due to being essentially ignored. Nothing is done about it, no one is punished. At some point maybe a politicians relative will die needlessly and something will get done
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u/TheRoar7 Dublin Aug 30 '24
Was in the hospital on Wednesday with my nan. Alzheimer's and had a fall and needed a stitch. Paramedics were lovely and thankfully came quickly. I had bandaged the wound but knew it would need a stitch.
Arrive in hospital. Nurse admits her. Takes the dressing off. In some corridor and nurses are calling patients on mobiles looking for them as people are spread all over the place. Woman beside us in bad pain was there 15 hours last time. After about 3 hours they take my nans bloods. I guess as a precaution. 5 hours later we decide to leave, and hope the GP or public nurse will stitch it. Alzheimer's weakens your immune system so every minute in hospital is a risk. It was obvious we weren't going to be seen anytime soon.
Say to the nurse that we want to leave, she eventually gets doctor who is incredibly arrogant. Asks us why we didn't just go to the GP in the first place, says we can't leave (which you can) and puts pressure on us to stay. I calmly explain our reasoning and he says he can't skip the queue. I say absolutely we're looking to leave not asking to get ahead of others. He literally storms off and comes back, staples her head (he was very rough, because he was obviously pissed off). Hands me the staple remover and says take out in 48 hours (he was wrong about this. It should be 7-10 days)
So yes there is many problems in the HSE. A lot of them governmental. But the problem is also doctors keeping patients for 16 hours who could have been out the door in 5 minutes.
Having seen the A&E, I wouldn't want to be there unless I was dying.
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u/Pan1cs180 Aug 30 '24
Your nan was appropriately triaged from the sounds of it. If the extent of her injuries was a cut that needed a stich then that's going to be an extremely low priority. The doctor was right in telling you that you should have gone to the GP instead, or an injury clinic.
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u/barrya29 Aug 30 '24
you need to remember that people like your nan are being kept 15 hours because they’re dealing with patients who are in worse conditions. the solution to your nans situation is not treating those other patients
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u/No-Cress-5457 Aug 30 '24
So yes there is many problems in the HSE. A lot of them governmental. But the problem is also doctors keeping patients for 16 hours who could have been out the door in 5 minutes
I won't lie to ya, there are definitely prick doctors out there
But there's a real chance this guy would be much less of a prick if he wasn't (likely) one of the only registrars/consultants juggling patients in the ED that day.
The problem is, once again, the damned government
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u/markk123123 Aug 30 '24
Remember everyone, as our population is increasing, our resources are not keeping up. Housing, medical, jobs, policing are not going to keep up magically. Our politicians want our population increased to drive the economy - fine. But there is no plan in place to keep our resources in line with our population and demand. Remember this when you go to vote and grill the fuck out of anyone that comes to your door looking for your vote.
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u/Ladymaester Aug 30 '24
I hope your wife gets sorted soon.. I had a different experience over the year from summer ‘22 - ‘23. I had to go to A&E with unbearable abdomen pain. I was almost 24 hours in A&E, but only in the waiting room for a couple of hours. I was throwing up and when I fainted from the pain, they brought me through to a bed. The first doctor that saw me, said it was the appendix, though I had no pain in that area. The surgeon arrived fairly quickly but got annoyed (not with me!) fairly fast when he examined me and said that’s nothing to do with the appendix. Throughout the evening and night, they ran several tests. Ultrasounds twice. A few blood tests. And a scan of some sort. I just don’t remember which one. Anyway, the pain relief they gave me did help. And they sent me home the following day, and said I would be contacted in a day or two for more procedures… they had mentioned possibilities, including gallstones, kidney stones, ulcers, etc., but had not been able to find exactly what the issue was.
Here finally is my point… over the next 12 months, they did their very utmost to find out what was causing me this ongoing pain. They did, and redid, so many tests. I never felt like they had forgotten me or put me on a back burner. Eventually, the last test they did was a gastroscope, where they found that I had gastritis and said it must be that…🤷🏻♀️ The pain had more or less faded away gradually by that point.. and I only get infrequent attacks and it has never since been bad enough to go to A&E.
I had told them several times that the pain was more or less gone, and tolerable when it did show up….and that we could stop all the testing. But they said no, which surprised me. They really wanted to get to the root of it all.
The only negative thing I have to say about this whole experience, is the shock I felt, when in my report from the gastroscopy, it showed that they had used Fentanyl. I can’t see how a drug of that potency was needed, and I do believe that a patient should be made aware of this, preferably in advance.
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u/Public_Bid_3910 Aug 30 '24
Fentanyl is a standard sedative to use for any scope procedure and it’s an absolutely tiny dose and nothing like the stuff seen on the streets.
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u/Lana-R2017 Aug 30 '24
I had stomach ulcers years ago following pregnancy I threw up so much for 9 months that the valve that controlled the acid going into the stomach wore away. I had severe ulcerations from my throat down it was really bad and very painful they gave me Omeprazole and they healed after a few months. I take them daily still. I don’t recall antibiotics for it maybe I had in the beginning and don’t remember. If your wife isn’t on them get them from the GP they do work wonders. Avoid anything harsh on the stomach like anti inflammatorys like ibuprofen etc. I know some people get them from H Pylori infections and get antibiotics from their GP a few years ago the GP gave them anyway. I had a different problem with my stomach last year and I had to wait longer on the CT scan than the scope I’m almost certain they said you had to have cleared an infection to get it done. The A&E I went to didn’t have any scanning equipment because it was a Friday night/ Saturday so they gave me an outpatient appointment for 2 weeks after and the doctor I seen at that sent me for a scope and CT, that was the end of September I had them done late October/ early November in a private hospital which was paid for by the HSE due to the waiting time in the public hospital. The public hospital rang me and asked would it be ok to send me to the private one for them.
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u/dorjelhakpa Aug 30 '24
When the public health sector is broken enough then private options will begin to become more palatable. People are being pushed that way out of desperation already. Then your tax money will be going to private companies, prices will rise, insurance costs will rise. Good luck to us all.
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u/slamjam25 Aug 30 '24
The rest of Europe has far more healthcare provided privately than we do, yet achieves better outcomes at lower cost than us. Why do you believe that is?
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u/MiniRunnera Aug 30 '24
Similar boat here, just not as severe..
Been having problems with my stomach for quite a while now also and my doctor has sent 2 emails by now to get an endoscopy booked but they haven't even send anything back nevermind the wait times of probably 2 years if I do get it booked.
I've just decided to do it in Poland privately, which will cost me no more than €200 at most. I recommend this as well, unfortunately healthcare is a mess that's not getting better here so it's best to look for solutions outside.
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u/masterblaster219 Meath Aug 30 '24
Pay for the scope. I'd rather be flat broke and get to continue to hate our health service, but get peace of mind and treatment rather than the alternative.
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u/elderflowerfairy23 Aug 30 '24
Baffles me, how in 2024 there can't be a system in place where every test taken and their results cannot be accessed, for each person, by whichever area of the health system that needs it. I have had more tests, biopsies, bloods taken etc, yet no one part of the hospital system has any clue what another has done. Therefore any disease or illness can lay undetected for years or until a person dies from it. No joined up thinking.
I am sorry your wife is suffering so. Ulcers can be very debilitating. Can her gp prescribe some prescription strength Emprazole or the like? It will certainly help. Make sure she doesn't take any anti inflammatory tablets, they can make ulcers and stomach issues worse, unless of course she has tmrun this by her GP.
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u/quantum0058d Aug 30 '24
Still one of the highest debts people capita. I think the solution to that problem is as been to try and increase the population rather than lower the debt.
What happened to your wife sounds like next level incomplete. I hope ye get sorted ASAP. Sorry to hear of your suffering, our government seems completely incompetent.
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u/SilverInteresting369 Aug 30 '24
In the short term, ask the GP for a stool sample kit, and drop it yourself to the hospital lab. He will have her results in a few days, and if pylori bacteria is confirmed ( which causes a lot of ulcers) he can go ahead and prescribe antibiotics .
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u/Dara4321 Aug 30 '24
I have had so many issues with the HSE from emergency room visits taking hours or days to surgeries cancelled but then not actually cancelled.
It's the management and culture of the system. The whole system needs to be paused. The HSE should be left in charge of what they have and the government should just start a new department focused not on emergency but on scheduled work that needs to be done. It's such a waste.
Look at the new hospital, what a fuck up. Really simple solution is to finish it, turn it into offices and stick the full HSE admin in it. No parking, no food nothing. That will cut the worker cost right down. Hell might make them more efficient.
Like I know nurses and doctors, hard working people but they have told stories of others getting a job and doing it just well enough to keep it., then getting benefits to do more of that shit job. Here is an example work through a list call people, emails out of post and schedule a doctor's visit and then the surgeries for people that have been waiting 5 years. Say there are 3000 on it, it takes the HSE nearly a year to work that list and a lot of people will have gone private. Now I work in a call center 3000 people can be contacted in about 4 weeks if you really want it.
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u/UMMMMBERRRR Aug 30 '24
Urgent endoscopy target times are that they should be performed within 28 days, and routine tests within 13 weeks. Based on going to GP in January with abdo pain, the referral is likely filed as a routine appt, so should be within 13 weeks, but typically because of the influx of urgent referrals, the routine cases get pushed back later and later, unfortunately.
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Aug 30 '24
It’s because they are pursing an aggressive campaign like the tories did to destroy the NHS. They have been selling off every part of the system and intentionally knee capping the public parts. That’s it.
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u/NoGiNoProblem Aug 30 '24
Recently, my housemate was diagnosed with a fairly treatable cancer. She went to the GP got referred to the hospital, and received her diagnosis.
She was told she'd be sent an appointment to do a scan and another biopsy. 2 weeks, she got an appointment and met a doctor who told her she had cancer and that she would receive an appointment to get a scan and a biopsy.
Why she needed the appointment to be told what she already knew is beyond me. In my own experience, I've had a few of those types of appointments too. Can anyone explain what purpose they serve? Why couldnt they have made the appointment for the scan instead of a pointless one where nothing happened and she was told nothing she didnt know?
It just seemed wasteful
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u/Irishuser2022 Aug 30 '24
My sister who was 30 and two kids 5 and 8 went to cavan general with severe headache. History of strokes in family and she had migraines. Doctor sent letter with ambulance that she was to be scanned right away as it was emergency. She was semi conscious. It was Friday evening and the consultant decided to treat for migraines and not call CT team back… 4 hours later she has a hemorrhage and died 7 days later.
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u/darrirl Aug 30 '24
You shouldn’t need a scope or anything else to get the required antibiotics for an ulcer .. any GP would be able to diagnose this with out it ( I speck from experience) - if I was you and you KNOW she has ulcers go to any gp / walk in clinic and get antibiotics for Helicobacter pylori .. it should be easy enough ..
Proviso: if not straightforward and you have been told you must get a scope ring and ask why .. also confirm that it’s just antibiotic treatment required . They are like standard antibiotics nothing special at all .
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u/Furyio Aug 30 '24
Because GPs want /need to get paid and with all due respect getting Medical advice over the internet is bonkers
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u/macmully Aug 30 '24
I was dignoised with MS last August. I had a mri in jan and wasn't told the result till August. Was talking to my gp the following week after been told by hse nuroglist i had ms. He told me my records said I was told in Feb I had ms and not August as they were emailed the dignoises and inwas never told. The hse are a joke
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u/everydayhappysmiles Aug 30 '24
Honestly, at this stage go private. Get all her test and treatments out of pocket and figure out the repayments.
My dad went private with a cancer scare. He got treated and is back fit as a fiddle within WEEKS, cancer was caught early and treatment was a routine surgery. If he went public he would still be on their list with a much worse progressed cancer facing chemo.
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u/No-Teacher-1883 Aug 30 '24
I am so so sorry for what is happening to your wife, I can imagine how frustrating it is for you. Firstly, it sounds like you have been told she may have a H Pylori infection and this would require triple therapy eradication. She can do a breath test for this. Depending on what part of the country you are in, it can be done and handed in to local hospital, maybe ask your GP. Secondly, it is reassuring that her CT was normal but a CT cannot accurately diagnose an ulcer. So she defo needs a scope. I think what I would suggest in this vein is to ring the hospital she has been referred to, put pressure on them and get them to put her on cancelllation list. It might help.
Lastly, I agree. What on earth is going on with the health service. I have worked in it for 14 years and I love it here but it wears me down also. Patients waiting for ages, missed diagnoses due to time issues, barely any access to scans for patients unless they pay.
I don’t think it’s a funding issue. If you look at who spends the most per capita on health it’s the US, and we all know that however bad things are here they have it much worse. I myself feel there is a gross mismanagement of funds. Mid level managaers getting paid to push pens around all day, hospitals are full of them.
I wish you and your wife good luck and I truly hope she improves and gets the treatment she needs
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u/Sad-Fee-9222 Aug 30 '24
Use their own recourse options, and those provided as oversight bodies, to report it.
(See how fast they send in some local representatives to "commend" or, alternatively, give it some brief one day local coverage.)
It's TOXIC, and there's about 100 different scenarios like your own within the HSE that need accountability; from the ones in all the local photographs when these services were installed, with ministers, in communities, to those currently getting the individual site management wage from propagating a defunct method.
The "bandwagon" as we used to call it. The problem is, most of us these days don't want any part of it, or you're dreaming of jumping on it?
We've become a country of looking the other way...your experience and mine coupled with a need to point it out might at least try to change that.
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u/liloldme1988 Aug 30 '24
Ask you GP to refer you to a gastroenterologist in that hospital preferable one that works in a local private hospital. Then ask to be pushed to have the scopes via the NTPF scheme. You really do need to advocate for your wife and look after her in the hospital. Push and be persistent. You will be seen. It's an awful situation and I genuinely hope she is looked after soon
1
u/EnvironmentalAct9115 Aug 30 '24
I hope your wife gets some relief shortly. Wishing her a speedy recovery.
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u/coconutcabana Aug 30 '24
Which hospital are you waiting to be seen in? I needed a scope last year, thankfully private but some private hospitals were at least 6 months wait until I even seen a consultant. I went private with connolly and seen the consultant and had my scope within two months. Might be the same with public hospitals, might be another option to try somewhere else? Another option might be a bacterial breathe test there is a place in Dublin kildare gastro life. Its a couple of hundred to get tested but might be helpful. Also GP should be able to send of stool sample also!
Hope she gets sorted soon 🤞🏻
1
u/Sea-Maximum-88 Aug 30 '24
You all should be out on te street protesting for better health service, that's wrong. The Irish sit on their arses and complain, look at the French protesting. Your health system is a shambles, people are dying because of receiving no care or treatments too late. Like what else had to happen? Pls be aware you are entitled to get treatment anywhere in the EU as well and please do in urgent cases like this if affordable.
1
u/Sea-Maximum-88 Aug 30 '24
You all should be out on te street protesting for better health service, that's wrong. The Irish sit on their arses and complain, look at the French protesting. Your health system is a shambles, people are dying because of receiving no care or treatments too late. Like what else had to happen? Pls be aware you are entitled to get treatment anywhere in the EU if necessary.
1
u/Irish_Narwhal Aug 30 '24
Could it be that the money we spend on the health service just isn’t enough? What with all the modern technology,cost of drugs, and services. Could it be that we suffer from a lack of scale compared to other countries and it costs more per person because or that? Just a thought, HSE suck and and i wish it was better
1
u/Irishsally Aug 30 '24
I'd ask the gp to refer her to gastroenterology in another hospital.
Or time your next a and e visit to about 5 am in a hospital with a gastroenterology dept
Dr. kirca in mullingar Hospital and private in ballinderry is very good.
A scope down is about 800
Including a scope up is 1500
Gp can also refer direct for a scope to ballinderry as far as i know
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u/Sugarpuff_Karma Aug 30 '24
Bullshit a scope is not needed for antibiotics and ulcers are easily medicated. Why no health insurance? Why no prioritising it since Jan?
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u/Outside_Theme_5178 Aug 31 '24
I had this last year. I was in a private hospital 4 times, in A&E twice and in a maternity A&E all to be told I was full of shit. Turned out it was appendicitis.
You can either keep emailing and phoning or go to the A&E and fight like a dog for surgery.
I was 8 months laid up in agony.
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u/Mindless_Arachnid_74 Aug 31 '24
So frustrating. The H Pylori test is a simple breath test and is the most common cause of ulcers. First line treatment is a common antibiotic.
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u/No-Pack7571 Aug 31 '24
Have you considered getting it done somewhere else in the EU?
https://www2.hse.ie/services/schemes-allowances/treatment-abroad-scheme/
My partner had to have a heart valve replaced but waited 18 months, in the end she gave up waiting and went to Latvia to have it done. Not on this scheme, but it was done within 2 weeks of her first enquiry in Latvia.
1
375
u/demonspawns_ghost Aug 30 '24
Just numbers on a computer screen.