Letter: No designated room at Mayo hospital for dying patients

Sir,

I wish to let you know about my recent experience as a patient at Mayo University Hospital.

Whilst there, one patient in my ward sadly passed away following a terminal illness.

I was shocked to discover there is no designated room available in the hospital for a dying patient.

Following the death in our ward, a stream of loved ones started arriving to pay their final respects.

After their departure none of the staff came to take away the corpse and over the following hours the rest of us patients were given meals on two occasions and visitors came and went. All as if nothing unusual had happened.

Eventually, after a time lapse of almost five and a half hours, the corpse was finally removed from our ward.

This incident was a deeply disturbing experience for me and one that I won't forget.

It highlights a total lack of respect for the living, the deceased and especially for the sick patients.

It is a sad reflection on us as a country which always showed great respect for the newly deceased in our community.

Even now, bringing this to your attention has caused me to relive this upsetting incident and I still feel traumatised by it.

Surely it's not too much to expect a small room in the hospital to be made available for such circumstances?

Yours,

A concerned citizen

(Name and address with editor).