Patient left in mayo hosptal bed for months cost hse 180000

 

THE HSE has been accused of leaving an elderly woman languishing in an acute hospital bed at Mayo General in Castlebar for months despite a place in a nursing home being secured for her in county Galway.

Deputy Colm Keaveney revealed that the woman had been approved for the Fair Deal Scheme and a residency had been secured in an appropriate nursing home. However, because of the particular medical needs in this case, a specialised bed was required for the woman to move in to the nursing home.

 He stated the HSE’s continuing refusal to purchase the bed has left the patient ‘trapped’ in an acute unit in the Castlebar hospital.

As well has being contrary to the overall well-being of the patient, he stated, it is also a gross failure of financial management by the HSE. The bed would have cost €40,000, but the cost of leaving the woman in an acute unit costs €1,000 a day.

It has now been over 180 days since the nursing home place was secured, leaving a total cost of €180,000. In the same time period the cost of providing care in a nursing home would have been just over €15,000.

 Deputy Keaveney has written to the Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar, urging him to directly intervene in this case.