Last week I managed to bust my left shoulder. Over the course of 48 hours it went from somewhat irritating to downright agonizing.

I couldn’t do a thing with it. A small stretch to turn on my car’s hazard lights and I nearly went through the roof with pain.

Driving was out of the question. Dressing myself was agonizing. There was nothing for it but for Sean to come to Dublin and take me home.

I was with our GP the next day and she had a busy surgery that stayed busy all day. I was lucky to get the last appointment.

She wanted to know what I had done to myself. I put it down to too much gardening over Christmas.

On reflection, I reckon it was my Pilates class that caused the problem.

There’s a lot of shoulder and arm work and my weaker left shoulder wasn’t up to the job.

I had been advised to take up Pilates to help with my osteoporosis. There was nothing for it but an x-ray and MRI scan.

After hearing nothing but terrible reports of chaos at our A&E departments around the country I was coming prepared.

I packed Mick Clifford’s book on Sgt McCabe, my iPad, change for the snack machine, a phone charger, a bottle of water and a big comfortable pillow.

I was expecting a long wait. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

My GP had advised going to A&E early and I arrived into UH Limerick at 9.10am last Saturday morning.

The hospital has a whole new A&E department which opened last May. The reception area was bright and cheerful, with comfortable seating for about 50 people. There were just two other people waiting.

My details were taken and by 9.20am I met a nurse who took more details.

I was then directed to another bright and cheerful waiting area. It had a good sized TV and faced on to an attractive courtyard garden.

I’ve seen much less welcoming hotel lobbies. Everywhere looked spotless.

I saw people on trollies but I saw no chaos. Just calm, organised professionalism from all the staff I met.

I had plenty of time to tell my story. There was no one rushing me through.

In the waiting area for X-rays five people were ahead of me. Within 20 minutes four of them had been called for their X-ray. None had been waiting more than 40 minutes.

By 10.10am I was in the X-ray area and it was done and dusted in less than 15 minutes. This is where the waiting begins I said to myself. But I was wrong again. Within 10 minutes I’d had my X-ray read, was given my results and sent on my way with a prescription.

I was back in an almost empty reception by 10.35am, less than an hour and a half from the time I arrived.

I had read precisely two paragraphs of my book.

I know my experience of A&E doesn’t reflect what happens to everyone, but just as the stories of long waits and overcrowding get plenty of coverage, it’s only fair to balance that with what was a really positive experience for me.

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