A Dublin man has described Beaumont Hospital's emergency department as a "warzone" after waiting 16 hours without being seen.
The patient, who wishes to remain anonymous, attended the hospital at 1pm yesterday due to serious dizziness and other head issues. However, he left 16 hours later without being seen due to "exhaustion" from waiting.
He told Dublin Live: "We were sitting out in the tent area because the waiting area was packed. I got my bloods taken at 4pm and then the evening went on and we didn't hear any updates, I assume the staff were run off their feet."
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The patient was seen by a triage nurse to have his blood pressure taken at around 7:30pm. Shortly before 11pm, he asked where he was in the queue and was told they hoped to see him within the next two hours.
"At this stage, I saw people who had potentially broken bones go home and there were people with back injuries who couldn't keep waiting. It was shocking to see," he said.
"I think I saw eight or nine patients leave because they couldn't sit there waiting anymore and they went home in severe pain."
The patient described "terrible and crowded" conditions inside the hospital. "When you walk into the room to be triaged, there's at least 10 to 12 beds on top of each other with patients lying in them," he said.
"How embarrassing is it for them? I'm looking at those patients as I'm being triaged, there's no privacy for them.
"I've never experienced anything like it in my life. The place was like a warzone."
The patient said he was told at 1am that he was down to fifth in line and should be seen soon, so he waited in the "freezing" tent until 5am.
"When it came to 5am, I was absolutely struggling because I had been awake since 2:30am the previous day. I require a machine to help me sleep at night because I have a high dosage of sleep apnoea. I was really exhausted as the night went on.
"I felt like I was going to collapse at one stage. I was then told I was back down to ninth in the queue because of a number of emergencies that had come in, which I totally understand.
"At 5am, the nurse came out to us and told us we wouldn't be seen until at least 8am or 9am. I told her I physically couldn't wait any longer and I had to go home.
"She was very apologetic. My heart went out to her, she was doing her best."
The patient emphasised that he was not criticising the staff in any way. "I'm not blaming any of the great staff and nurses that were there last night," he said.
"They were doing the very best they could, but it's impossible for them. They're not getting any sort of support.
"Honestly, the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly should resign. The situation is getting worse and worse, it's a disgrace.
"I've worked and paid tax my whole life, I'm not looking for anything for free and I never have a problem paying the €100 fee. But this time I won't be paying it."
A spokeswoman for Beaumont Hospital told Dublin Live: "Beaumont Hospital does not comment on individual cases. We recommend that patients who are dissatisfied with services make contact with the Beaumont Hospital Patient Advisory Liaison Service."
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