‘Get 12 beds into empty hospital ward’

A state-of-the-art ward currently ‘lying empty’ in Roscommon Hospital should be urgently fitted out with beds as part of a new Government initiative.

That’s the view of Independent TD Denis Naughten who ramped up pressure on the Department of Health and the HSE this week, highlighting the unused status of the ward in question over the past five years.

With the Government having announced plans for 1,500 new hospital beds nationwide, Deputy Naughten placed a focus on the situation in Roscommon.

Calling on the Minister for Health to ensure that the empty surgery ward at Roscommon Hospital is included in the initiative, Deputy Naughten said: “The HSE has issued a tender for 1,500 new hospital beds at 15 sites across the country.

It is imperative that the empty stateof-the-art ward that has been lying idle in Roscommon Hospital since 2018 is now fitted out and staffed as part of these national plans”.

Noting that the HSE intends to provide the beds within 75 weeks by using modular building, the TD said the shell of the ward adjoining the theatres in Roscommon has been completed since 2018 and could immediately provide an increased number of surgical procedures for patients currently on waiting lists.

Deputy Naughten said that the unused ward in question is currently merely storing hospital beds and medical equipment.

Appealing to Minister Stephen Donnelly to act on his call, Deputy Naughten said: “We have a section of the hospital empty for the last five years which could provide 12 additional beds at the stroke of a pen”.

Brehon Law and Personal Injuries

On a lighter note for Easter I researched how personal injury matters were dealt with in times past. I discovered some interesting and novel remedies.

Prior to the Norman invasion in 1169, a system of customary law was in place. Customary law was an organic legal system where rules and procedures were decided ad hoc over a period of time. This type of law is now referred to as Brehon Law.

During this time, society was organized in regional units under the leadership of the King of the tribe.

Society was largely inegalitarian and as a result, there was heavy distinction between classes of citizens namely (i) Nemad – Noble/ sacred individuals e.g. Kings, Lords, Professors, Poets, Priests etc; (ii) Doernemed e.g. craftsmen, physicians, druids, judges and advocates; (iii) Fremen (Farmers) and (iv) Doer – slaves.

Although early Irish law recognised a distinction between intentional and unintentional injury, any type of injury was still normally unlawful and required compensation. The legal text Bretha Déin Chécht goes into considerable detail in describing the fines based on the location of the wound and its severity.

According to that text, the payment was decided by a physician after nine days. Prior to that, the victim was cared for by his family and a physician.

Bretha Déin Chécht describes that the wound was measured according to how many grains of a certain plant fit in the wound. The higher status one was, the smaller the grain used. Nine grains were mentioned in the text, from a grain of wheat to a bean. If the wound did not heal, and thus the physical blemish was a problem for the victim’s honour, further payments were required.

If the patient would recover but still needed nursing, the injurer was responsible for his care. This was known as sick maintenance. The injurer also had to pay for food for the victim and was obliged to provide someone to fulfill the victim’s duties while he was incapacitated.