IN DANGER: Barth Flynn, attends dialysis at University Hospital Kerry three days a week. Contracting COVID-19 could be fatal for him or other kidney patients.

EXCLUSIVE

By Sean Moriarty

A local kidney patient has called for a complete overhaul of the COVID-19 vaccination list. On the current list, kidney and renal patients are Priority 7 and are grouped together with 18-65 year olds who suffer other health conditions.

Barth Flynn (37), attends dialysis at University Hospital Kerry three days a week. The Fossa man suffered kidney failure as a baby and the condition grew progressively worse in adulthood.

“Look at the rationale behind this, Priority 3 is for over 70s who are at a risk of hospitalisation or death,” he told the Killarney Advertiser. “Any exposure to COVID-19 could be fatal to us too.”

Mr Flynn was not engaging in any sort of a "me first" attitude, he was speaking as the former director of nursing at Killarney Nursing Home and as someone who fully understands the pressure the Irish healthcare system is currently facing.

“The classes are too broad, in the 18-65 age group, a lot of these people are carers for other people, who will look after them if something should happen to the carer?” he added.

His wife Lorraine Friel is a nurse at Macroom Community Hospital.

“I don’t fancy my chances if I got sick with COVID-19,” he added. “Lorraine is very concerned that she might bring it in from the hospital. I am very concerned if that happened I could bring it into the dialysis unit in Tralee. I very much know the risks involved, it is very dangerous for me, but there is a lot of people over there a lot sicker than me and if I got it they could die.”

COMPLICATIONS

He has barely left his home in the last year as his condition is further complicated as a result of heart surgery last year – as his kidney illness caused damage to a valve in his heart.

He also suffers from a form of arthritis, another side effect of his kidney condition.

He was originally supposed to undergo heart surgery in November 2019 but that got delayed until July last year.

His 10 days in University Hospital Cork underlined what he already knew from his wife – that hospitals are under very serious pressure.

“One man on the same ward, he had his procedure cancelled three times, he was fasting and ready but the hospital needed the ICU beds after more [COVID-19] cases. He was in for a bypass,” said Barth.

The couple are parents to two boys, Josh (6), and Luke (2). Luckily for them her brother John effectively gave up his life, to care for the two children.

“John has been living with us for a year, when all this started he offered to come, it has had a big impact on him,” added Barth. “When I am at home after dialysis, I am too weak to look after the boys.”

He also called on people to obey the guidelines as any spike in COVID-19 cases puts him and other kidney patients at very real risk of death.

“We can see with these restrictions – they do work,” he said.