Dublin Woman Spends 2 Days in St Vincent’s Hospital Corridor Awaiting CT Scan

Sinead Ferron, 51, a Dublin resident with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), spent 48 hours in a noisy corridor bed at St Vincent’s University Hospital this week. She arrived at the emergency department early Monday morning with internal bleeding symptoms, experiencing severe stomach cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea since Sunday afternoon.

Ferron, who also has diverticulitis and a brain aneurysm requiring aspirin for a stent, was initially triaged but then moved to a full waiting area. She felt her low infection levels made her a low priority. After about 15 hours, she was placed in a corridor bed, told she would have a sigmoidoscopy on Tuesday. However, due to her EDS, she requested a CT scan instead, leading to the extended corridor stay.

She described the corridor as lacking privacy, with constant foot traffic from staff and patients, making sleep impossible. Ferron does not blame the attentive staff but was informed of a shortage of CT scanners and diagnostic equipment. She was moved to a ward Wednesday evening, then to St Vincent’s Private Hospital due to her insurance, where she finally received a CT scan on Thursday morning.

St Vincent’s University Hospital stated they cannot comment on individual cases but acknowledged that during high demand, patients may be temporarily placed in corridors. They regret when patients experience this, noting efforts to minimize it and allocate beds quickly. The hospital has three CT scanners, prioritizing urgent imaging, but high demand can affect scan waiting times.