The HSE has revealed that the average waiting time for admission to hospital emergency departments last month was nearly 14 hours for people 75 years of age and over. The information was provided following a parliamentary question from SF Health Spokesperson David Cullinane. The three worst hospitals are Cork University Mercy in Cork and UHL – three hospitals that frequently have the highest numbers of patients on Trolleys. The time spent on a trolley for people over 75 in Cork University Hospital is 28.8 hours, in the Mercy Cork it is 26.8 hours and at University Hospital Limerick the average wait on a trolley was 22.2 hours. Recent research from the UK indicates that there is one excess death for every 67 patients that stay in the emergency department for 8 to 12 hours. According to data from the Patient Experience Time survey in 2020 over 30% of patients were still waiting to be discharged or admitted after waiting for more than 6 hours in Irish emergency departments. Health professionals have expressed concern at the length of time patients are awaiting admission.
