"The first episode on RTÉ One concentrated mainly on the A&E of CUH. Unfortunately for any resident of the Republic, it bore little resemblance to our own experiences. Come on, you remember: the packed waiting rooms, the staff who can't be found, the vending machines selling rubbish, the old people white with exhaustion as day turns to night and they still haven't seen a nurse, and the addicts and the alcoholics who are verbal in their complaints."
"Barry was television gold. He had cycled his bike down his sister's driveway straight out in front of a car. How was the driver faring, was one of the unaddressed questions here. Barry was not wearing a helmet at the time. He was transferred to CUH by air ambulance - we have air ambulances! One of the team gave a thorough report on what had happened and on Barry's health status. It was most impressive."
The programme focused on Cork University Hospital's A&E but presented scenes that differed from common public experiences of crowded waiting rooms and overworked staff. On-camera scenes showed patients being wheeled down empty corridors with two nurses in attendance and detailed, professional ambulance handovers. The voice-over noted 20 patients waiting on trolleys and some non-serious cases waiting over 12 hours, but those situations were not shown. High-drama individual cases received polished coverage, including a cyclist transferred by air ambulance and a 22-year-old sportswoman with injuries. Everyday problems such as vending machines, exhausted elderly patients, visible staff shortages, and verbal complaints from addicts and alcoholics remained largely absent.
Read at Irish Independent
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