Martina Anderson raises case of critically-ill Derry father in calling for ECMO purchase

Foyle MLA Martina Anderson has raised the case of a critically-ill Derry father in calling for the purchase of a specialist extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine for the north on Tuesday.
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The Derry MLA Martina Anderson, speaking at the Stormont Assembly, said it was unacceptable coronavirus patients from Derry would have to be flown to Britain if they needed emergency ECMO treatment.

“I have been dealing with a family in Derry: the father is critically ill with COVID-19, the mother has been infected and they have three children.

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“The father is in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The family sought the life-saving and specialist treatment of an ECMO machine, a state-of-the-art oxygenation treatment.

“When I raised the possibility of purchasing a machine for the North, which the family offered to crowdfund, I was told that there was a specialised unit in England that provided the service. I say that in the context of our civil liberties being removed and the expectation that people have of us politicians to save lives,” said Ms. Anderson.

ECMO can be used to treat people that have become acutely ill after contracting COVID-19. Clinicians in other jurisdictions have had success treating patients whose blood oxygen levels have become critically low even after ventilation. Ms. Anderson said local patients deserved access to the treatment.

“When I challenged how COVID-19 patients could travel on a plane to England with nurses, who would, undoubtedly, get infected en route - the patient would probably die - I got a more substantial reply to confirm that the trust was looking at how people in the North could access that life-saving ECMO treatment in the South of Ireland. Nothing has yet materialised. Whilst it may be too late for that Derry father, it is not too late for others. Most reasonable people do not understand why, on this island, we do not have an all-Ireland human health strategy to deal with this deadly pandemic, given that we have an all-Ireland animal health and welfare strategy. The pandemic neither knows nor cares about borders. We should trace, track and isolate on an all-island basis.”

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The Derry MLA, in a sobering contribution, also highlighted the tragic rise in deaths in Ireland since she last spoke in the Assembly chamber.

“I sent my sympathy to the 10 people who had died across Ireland and the 17,000 who had died across the world. Here we are, only a few weeks later, and I send my deepest sympathy to the 894 people who have died across this island and the 170,000 who have died across the world.”

She said no-one is enthusiastic about the continuation of the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions but argued they are still necessary.

“ In normal circumstances, I would speak loudly against such restrictions at every opportunity, in Committee and in the Chamber. Ideally, this is not how we should or would legislate.

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“However, these are not normal times, and extraordinary measures are required to tackle a deadly global pandemic.”

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