A HOSPITAL GROUP HAS said it is gravely concerned about Covid-19 patients discharging themselves prematurely.
At least two such incidents – discharges or attempted discharges against medical advice – have occurred at Irish hospitals in recent days.
A video of a man being encouraged to leave Letterkenny University Hospital (LUH) by an anti-Covid campaigner went viral this week, as we reported earlier.
The patient in question willingly leaves the hospital, going against the medical advice of staff.
LUH is part of the Saolta Hospital Group (SHG), which also oversees University Hospital Galway, Merlin Park University Hospital, Sligo University Hospital, Mayo University Hospital, Portiuncula University Hospital and Roscommon University Hospital.
SHG confirmed to The Journal that two such incidents have occurred in its hospitals to date.
A spokesperson told us: “Saolta has grave concerns about the impact of this type of activity on both patients and staff.
“Patient safety and care is of paramount importance to the group. Hospitals across the region are under extreme pressure as a result of record levels of attendances of both Covid and non-Covid patients.
“The deliberate spreading of disinformation and at times defamatory comments against named staff members along with the posting of these videos on social media platforms is adding significantly to the burden already facing healthcare professionals.
“While Saolta endeavours to facilitate patient visiting when possible, incidents like this are highly disruptive and upsetting in clinical settings.”
A separate video being widely shared on social media claims that gardaí were called to Mayo University Hospital after a patient’s family questioned the treatment they were receiving.
The Saolta spokesperson said they “cannot comment on individual cases” in order to maintain a patient’s confidentiality, but confirmed that “members of the security team are involved in any incident which escalates and An Garda Síochána are involved where appropriate”.
A statement noted: “When a patient or family makes personal information public, this does not relieve the HSE and all HSE funded hospitals of its duty to preserve/uphold patient confidentiality at all times.”
The statement added that all Saolta hospitals are “facilitating patient visiting in line with national guidance”.
“All visits to in-patients are pre-arranged and facilitated at the request of the patient. People coming to the hospital must continue to follow all the public health guidance including wearing a face mask and using hand gel regularly.
“Visitors are required to complete a screening checklist regarding Covid-19, prior to visiting the hospital. If any member of the public fails to follow these guidelines while on site they are asked to leave the hospital.”
LUH video
LUH earlier asked families of patients to get in contact if they have any concerns about care after that particular video went viral on social media.
The campaigner says in the video, which he is also filming, that he has been in contact with another activist who supported him in his attempt to encourage the patient to exit the hospital.
In the video, a member of the medical staff at LUH can be heard saying to the man: “You have the right to decide what you want to do. But I don’t think what [the campaigner] is saying is right.”
He added: “You’re barely able to breathe there now. And we want you to stay so we can help you.”
The person who recorded the video also said he would make more videos that would help to provide campaigners with the legal justification for similar actions. In posts on social media, the person also claimed the patient was being treated for Covid-19, but those claims have not been verified.
The campaigner also provided a template legal letter on one of his social media pages, which he said will allow patients to be removed from hospitals.
Donegal TD Thomas Pringle told The Journal the video from LUH was “shocking”.
“If someone needs to be on a ventilator or is in need of urgent medical treatment, hospital staff will do all they can to save people. They should be left alone to do their jobs,” the independent TD added.
With reporting by Ian Curran and Garreth MacNamee
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