Donegal Daily
  • News
  • Sport
  • Courts
  • Jobs
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Politics
  • Features
  • Donegal County Council News
Wednesday 16°CThursday 15°C

Donegal Daily Donegal Daily

sponsor banner
sponsor banner
  • News
  • Sport
  • Courts
  • Jobs
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Politics
  • Features
  • Donegal County Council News
HealthLead StoriesNews

Elderly man died in Letterkenny Hospital after 12 day transfer delay

written by Rachel McLaughlin June 20, 2018
FacebookTweetLinkedInPrint

An elderly man died after waiting more than 12 days for a transfer from Letterkenny University Hospital to University Hospital Galway.

The patient had been waiting for a urology review at the regional centre in Galway, but by the time his family complained, his condition had deteriorated to a point that he was too sick for a transfer. He later passed away.

A complaint was made to the Ombudsman last year over the transfer delays and over the man’s family not being informed of falls. Details of the case were released today in the Ombudsman Annual Report.

The brother of the elderly man said that he suffered a number of falls while he was in LUH. However, it emerged that no particular actions were taken to prevent him falling again, documentation was incomplete and the family was not notified of all the falls.

Faults relating to the patient’s transfer were examined and it was found that the urology team in the Galway regional centre accepted the man for transfer, but his name was not added to the bed management list in the regional centre until 13 days later.

LUH were not aware, until the Ombudsman’s examination, that the man’s name had not been put on the list.

“It was clear that there was no agreed protocol covering the procedure for the transfer of patients between the two hospitals. The consultant had little involvement in the transfer and all dealings were by telephone which resulted in serious communication issues,” said Ombudsman Peter Tyndall.

The family complained after 12 days, which resulted in the consultant getting the man’s named added to the transfer list. However, the patient was too ill to be transferred at this stage and he later died.

The General Managers of both hospitals wrote to the family and apologised. As a result of this case, Saolta committed to finalising a Bi-Directional Patient Flow policy to streamline the process for transferring patients within the hospital group. LUH formalised a new falls management policy and specialist ‘Frailty’ training.

Ombudsman Peter Tyndall received 79 complaints from people living in Donegal about providers of public services last year. Donegal County Council received 39 complaints about its services, eight of which were upheld.

Elderly man died in Letterkenny Hospital after 12 day transfer delay was last modified: June 21st, 2018 by Rachel McLaughlin
FacebookTweetLinkedInPrint

Tags:
healthombudsman annual report 2017
Rachel McLaughlin

LEAVE A COMMENT

You may also like

North West Special Olympics Club reaches new...

23 minutes ago

Sound of music to fill Letterkenny as...

1 hour ago

Inishowen road to remain closed after “serious...

2 hours ago

Your career is never set in stone!

2 hours ago

Massive Lennon Festival line-up features Daniel O’Donnell,...

2 hours ago

Donegal Judge Sandra Murphy moved to new...

3 hours ago

Malin Head records highest June temperature in...

4 hours ago

Talented young east Donegal filmmakers display their...

4 hours ago

Watch: Huge send-off for popular Letterkenny Traveller,...

5 hours ago

West Donegal school participates in ‘It’s My...

5 hours ago
Advertisement
Advertisement

Donegal County Council

Facebook
Donegal County Council
Advertisement
Advertisement
Donegal Daily Jobs

Read More

  • News
  • Sport
  • Courts
  • Jobs
  • Sales & Services
  • Obituaries
  • Features
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Council News

Information

  • Contact Us
  • About
  • Advertise WIth Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms & Conditions

Our Sites

Donegal Woman
Donegal Woman
Donegal Daily

© 2025 Donegal Daily. All rights reserved.
Website by owenod


Back To Top.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkPrivacy policy