A Senator has told of how her brother had to lie on the floor of Cavan Hospital "roaring in pain in order to get treated."
Aontú' s Sarah O Reilly has told of her brother's "distressing experience" and believes it could of potentially been "extremely serious."
According to the local senator, her brother Conall was eventually seen and sent home with a course of antibiotics, even though he knew it wasn't enough.
It later transpired that he had appendicitis which she says is "very serious and potentially fatal."
Senator O'Reilly said she is concerned that this is a "pattern" that is reflected countrywide.
Speaking to Northern Sound, the Aontú rep believes individual nurses and doctors are "brilliant" but there is no doubt they are under "immense strain."
She added that the HSE is top heavy with admin and managerial staff, but the actual medics are short on the ground, and this is posing a risk to patient care as in the case of her brother's story.
Senator O'Reilly told Northern Sound: "It’s just beyond the beyond that a patient has to do what he did to be taken seriously and receive the correct medical treatment.
"Imagine being sent home with antibiotics when a simple physical exam, CT or ultrasound would diagnose appendicitis.
"Conall is 48 and well able to speak for himself but another person might be too reticent to lie on the floor and shout for help, but he knew it was the only way he would get seen to and ultimately, he was right.
"I want to shine a light on this as hospitals are under inordinate pressure and creaking under the weight of all the various but conflicting responsibilities.
"We know it has overspent by a whopping €250 Million leading to another pause on recruitment, saying that frontline staff won’t be impacted. However, the INMO (Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation) has issued strong warnings again recently that under no circumstances should there be a cut to vital nursing posts amidst ongoing shortage in the sector."
