Father-of-three dies from suspected asthma attack during two hour ambulance wait

https://www.thejournal.ie/life-and-death-ambulance-delays-6463798-Aug2024/

Posted by Ambitious_Bill_7991

19 Comments

  1. stbrigidiscross on

    This story is so horrific.

    Asthma attacks are medical emergencies, he absolutely should have been a priority for the ambulance service. 2 hours is crazy, particularly when he was only 5 minutes from his local ambulance base.

    His poor family who had to sit there and watch him die and will probably always wonder if they could have done something differently.

    I hope there will be an investigation and things will change about how ambulances are allocated but that won’t bring him back. What an awful and likely preventable tragedy.

  2. Who died though? The father or the son?

    Headline:
    > Father-of-three dies from suspected asthma attack during two hour ambulance wait

    Introduction:
    > THE FATHER OF a young man who died after suffering a suspected asthma attack, described how he watched his son take his last breaths while waiting two hours for an ambulance.

    We don’t even know how to write a basic article in this country how are we going to have a European-level healthcare system?

  3. No-Argument4885 on

    I just don’t understand why there isn’t riots in the streets over the condition of the HSE. I’ve written to every TD in my area multiple times, county counsellors, ANYONE who might in some way be able to do something and it’s the same cookie cutter response.

    People are dying because of this health system and it’s been like that for years. Nothing is changing, I’d argue it’s getting worse. But don’t worry, all those admin and middle management staff will still get their paychecks. Accountability will be passed off down the chain.

    It’s infuriating and terrifying to watch. I don’t know what to do anymore.

  4. TheStoicNihilist on

    You can’t rely on ambulances in an emergency, speaking from experience. If you have any emergency here in west Waterford you drive to hospital.

  5. Coming up next: “_Simon Harris concerned about ambulance wait times in Ireland”_ headline on the Irish Times, followed by fuck all being done until it happens again. Rinse and repeat.

  6. Routine_Chicken1078 on

    I used to have severe asthma attacks. I’ve even driven myself to A&E. They were wrong to tell them to wait. Asthma can suddenly get deadly. I’m so sad for this poor family.

  7. Absolutely shameful that they had to wait that long. When my then-3 year old had an asthma attack a couple of years ago on a cold night, he couldn’t draw breath, the sound was terrifying. We put him straight into the car and drove the 15 minute drive to the hospital. The staff then told me we should’ve called an ambulance instead and kept him inside because the cold air could make it worse, but who knows how long we would be waiting for an ambulance when we knew it was a 10-15 minute drive for us. I’d probably do the same thing again having read this article. 

  8. Jesus Christ. his poor family. That’s actually embarassing, we are an absolute shit show of a country in so many respects. Shameful

  9. Finn_Survivor on

    We had an older man collapse at work. Ambulance took over an hour to get there. It’s a 4 min drive (2.5km) to the hospital.
    Absolute disgrace

  10. Lads, American here, newly qualified EMT and waiting for an offer from the National Ambulance Service, which is delayed due to the HSE and NAS fighting over budgets.
    If you have a medical emergency and 999 tells you an ambulance is delayed, tell 999 you are driving the patient to the ED. The ambulance might be able to meet you on the way. Don’t sit around waiting if the patient becomes critical. Use your own gut instinct. I understand the ambulance base was nearby but that doesn’t mean there’s anyone there.

  11. A relative of mine collapsed and stopped breathing. We rang an ambulance- 90 mins we were told. This person lives a 3 min drive from the hospital but the nearest ambulance was from a base a few counties away.

  12. My friend saw a crash last week in Dublin, thankfully no one was seriously hurt, but it took the ambulance over an hour to arrive

  13. The ambulance service is threadbare. If people knew the truth, they would be up in arms. Just another facet of this country that is fucked up beyond all recognition.

  14. AnT-aingealDhorcha40 on

    The Irish health system is so badly managed and ran that it has actually become dangerous.

    How many more people have to die because the government can’t get a handle on the basic essentials like health care.

    Why should we work if they can’t even look after our basic health requirements.

    Clowns 🤡 in the Dail.

  15. I have recently moved from the United States to a rural town in Ireland, and I have asthma. I carry a “rescue” inhaler with me at all times (albuterol). Do asthma patients here in Ireland not get prescriptions for these? Truly curious as it affects me personally. I have been able to get my daily meds, but haven’t needed to renew my rescue inhaler yet.