Staff at Letterkenny University Hospital (LUH) have spoken out after days of harassment from anti-vaxxers on their way to and from work.
Donegal Daily understands that the situation came to a head on Thursday afternoon when Gardai had to be called.
A spokesperson for the Garda Press Office confirmed to us that officers were called shortly after 3pm in response to “a disturbance involving a male visitor” to the hospital.
“However, on arrival, the individual had left of his own accord. Enquiries are ongoing. An Garda Síochána has no role in the enforcement of Public Health Guidelines,” the spokesperson said.
When contacted this morning, a spokesperson for Saolta Hospital Group, which oversees LUH, declined to comment.
However two hospital staff members spoked to Donegal Daily on condition of anonymity.
One, a male, said he was followed through the car park to his car and was verbally abused.
The other, a female nurse, said that all threats and harassment are being reported to Letterkenny Garda Station.
“We are burned out and nurses are being abused in the car parks between shifts,” she said.
“Everyone here is just burned out and the last two days (Thursday and Friday) have been the worst.”
Letterkenny Garda Station.
The issue came to a head last Tuesday after a patient suffering from Covid was taken from the hospital against medical advice.
A video of the man being taken from the hospital was posted on social media.
It shows him being taken from a ward amidst claims that he was forcibly being put into the intensive care unit.
In the video a man, an Italian immigrant, is seen claiming that he is “rescuing” the patient from the hospital.
The man is heard saying “We are saving lives and we are going to save more.”
“We came to Letterkenny to rescue my friend because they were trying to kill him.
“We are walking home from the hospital and nobody is going to stop us. We are going home. We are saving the lives of the people”
The man claims he is operating under common or natural law.
He also claimed they are going to get more people out of hospital claiming “they are killing people without consent.”
The patient was taken back to his west Donegal home.
However, he was readmitted to the hospital less than 24 hours later. As of yesterday, he remained in a serious condition.
A spokesperson for Saolta told us on Wednesday that they cannot comment on individual cases.
However, the spokesperson confirmed the Saolta University Healthcare Group is aware of two incidents where groups have spread dis-information at its hospital sites.
The spokesperson said “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 dis-information 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.”
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