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01st Dec 2021

Meabh Feerick dies after sharing that she felt “let down” by Irish healthcare system

Sarah McKenna Barry

She was 25-years-old.

Mayo woman Meabh Feerick has passed away just a month after sharing that she had been “let down” by the Irish healthcare system.

Midwest Radio reported that Meabh died peacefully on November 29th at the Mayo Hospice.

The 25-year-old mother of one had returned to Ireland from Australia, where she had been diagnosed with stage-four-melanoma.

Meabh flew home to Ireland to be with her family, however, she was met with delays in accessing her treatment due to numerous circumstances.

Earlier this year, she heartbreakingly shared that she felt she had “shortened” her life by coming home.

In an interview with Western People, Meabh said: “I brought all my files, scans, etc home on a USB with all the information from my doctors in Australia. However, when I brought them to doctors here, they couldn’t read them or access them because of the Cyberattack on the HSE.

“As a result, I had to have all the scans and x-rays done again but I was told this would take six to eight weeks. For someone with my diagnosis, this was devastating. There was such a backlog in the system, there was no room for me to be booked in for tests and scans.

“The whole thing was really scary and we kept hitting brick walls.”

In October, Meabh told the Daily Mail that she had been “massively let down” by the system.

She said: “I feel so out of the loop in my own cancer journey because I have no idea what’s going on in my body.”

Meabh also pointed to a “lack of urgency” in the healthcare system.

She said: “Scans, results, treatment delays, surgery, the wait times are crazy. It’s just so sad to think that if things were treated with more urgency, people might get more time with their loved ones and maybe better quality of life too.”

Our thoughts are with Meabh’s family and loved ones at this awful time.