A shortage of intensive-care beds in the north-east and at a number of Dublin hospitals resulted in a Monaghan patient having to be sent to a hospital in Northern Ireland for treatment this week, writes Eithne Donnellan, Health Correspondent.
The patient had to be transferred from Monaghan General Hospital to the Erne Hospital in Enniskillen on Tuesday night.
The patient was being treated for gastroenteritis at Monaghan when her condition deteriorated and she was diagnosed as possibly needing bowel surgery.
This could not be carried out in Monaghan, which is not allowed to do major surgery, so attempts were made to transfer the patient to Cavan General Hospital. It is understood an intensive-care bed was available in Cavan but the hospital is not permitted under current guidelines to do major surgery that is likely to result in a patient requiring intensive care.
Efforts were then made to transfer the patient to the main hospital in the north-east region, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, but it has only three intensive-care beds and they were full. Three Dublin hospitals were also contacted but they had no intensive-care beds free.
It was then decided to transfer the patient by ambulance to Enniskillen and en route the patient's condition became critical.
Several hours are understood to have elapsed while efforts were made to make the transfer.
Monaghan GP Dr Illona Duffy, who has actively campaigned for more services at Monaghan hospital, said it was appalling that a patient with an acute problem had to be transferred to the North and couldn't be treated in the south. "We are expecting the NHS to take up the slack for our poor health service," she said.
Asked about the incident, the North Eastern Health Board said it could not comment on individual cases. However, it did confirm there was "pressure" on intensive care beds in the north-east on Tuesday evening.
Earlier this month, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital had to cancel elective surgery due to a shortage of intensive care beds. Since then, health board management has promised to double to six its number of intensive-care beds.