Children’s emergency department

Health budget

A chara, – Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said that the focus of the health budget is running the services we have.

I had an occasion to visit the emergency department in Temple Street hospital in Dublin this week with my 18-month-old granddaughter who had suffered a head injury. The care that my daughter received was excellent. The conditions we had to endure were totally unacceptable for children. The waiting room was totally overcrowded with families waiting in corridors. We had a seven-hour wait to see a neurologist. Waiting in such cramped conditions was traumatic for my granddaughter. To expect a toddler to stay in such conditions added to her trauma. The staff were excellent when we got to see them but they were stressed and exhausted.

If Stephen Donnelly visits a children’s emergency department he might see the crisis our children’s health system is in. – Is mise,

C KENNY,

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Dublin 1.