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A Kerry woman who spent 24 hours on a trolley in A&E at University Hospital Kerry said someone is going to die if the system is not fixed. 

Some of Phillippa's medical details which she claims were written down on toilet paper due to a shortage of writing paper.

Phillippa on a trolley in a corridor at UHK.

‘It was the worst I’ve ever experienced’ is how Killorglin woman Phillippa Christie described her horrific experience after she was admitted to the Accident & Emergency Department at University Hospital Kerry (UHK).

P hillippa was admitted at 10am on Monday and placed on a trolley in a corridor where she remained for over 24-hours. At 1pm the following day she was still on a trolley in a corridor.

Phillippa described how some of her medical details had to be written on toilet paper as the staff had no writing paper. Her trolley was later placed by a window and toilet, on a corridor, that staff sarcastically referred to as ‘the penthouse suite’.

“They couldn’t find my medical chart all day, everyone kept writing on pieces of toilet paper. That was my chart at one point,” Phillippa said.

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"I told one doctor my family [medical] history and he just ignored me. I just couldn’t believe it. My husband has sent images to the hospital manager,” she added.

“There was an 80-year-old woman with a brain tumour sitting on a chair for hours; another guy was on a trolley with a ruptured appendix. I was talking to him and trying to keep him going while he waited for help. It was just awful.”

Phillippa spoke glowingly of the staff given they are so overwhelmed with the sheer number of patients. She claims the corridors were ‘filling up’ fast and that at one point the staff ran out of trollies and had to put patients on chairs.

“The staff are brilliant but they need a bigger A&E. There isn’t a corridor without people in it. I had an elderly woman at 1am sitting next to me. I wanted to cry for her,” she said.

"I told the staff that I know it’s not their fault. When I said I was going the papers, they said: ‘please do, reach out. Somebody needs to share what’s happening here’. It was the worst I ever experienced,” Phillippa added.

Phillippa on a trolley in a corridor at UHK.

She has since contacted her elected representatives about the disturbing experience in the hope something can be done.

“This has to be sorted because my fear is someone will die. There are just too many patients for the staff. They are doing all they can.

"The system is badly broken. I would ask each person in Kerry to write to the hospital and your TD. Tell them this, as the consequences may be a lot worse,” said Phillippa.

When contacted, UHK said it does not comment on individual cases.

Patients can raise their comments, complaints, and concerns with hospital management via the formal complaints procedures which is actively managed.

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