Hundreds leaving Mayo hospital emergency department without being seen

OVER 2,000 patients left the emergency department at Mayo University Hospital (MUH) without being seen last year.

The figures were confirmed after a parliamentary question was tabled to the Minister for Health.

Mayo Aontú representative Paul Lawless, the recent organiser of a protest outside MUH, said: “The overcrowding issue at Mayo University Hospital is leading to incredible hardship for the people of Mayo who are actually leaving the emergency department in alarming numbers without ever being seen.

“Figures released to me from the Minister for Health following a parliamentary question show that 2,131 people left the emergency department without being seen, which is a 78% rise from 2021 figures.

“When we compare the latest figures for 2022 to the 2019 pre-Covid figures we can see a 106% increase.

“This is a shocking increase and highlights the deterioration with regard to the conditions in the hospital.”

On average six people leave the hospital each day without receiving treatment, he explained.

“There’s no doubt the long wait times and the congestion is what’s driving people home again.

“While the average wait time at MUH is just under seven hours, many people remain on the waiting list for much longer. I know one patient who was 14 hours on a chair waiting to be seen in immense pain.”

Mr. Lawless continued: “The National Day of Action demonstration on January 21 (a demonstration to highlight the appalling overcrowding conditions at MUH) heard the plight of many patients at the hospital.

“I spoke to one mother who told me her daughter was simply too sick to wait on a chair for hours and they were forced to leave. Imagine in 2023 being too sick to be in hospital. That’s how bad things are.

“The situation is untenable. We need urgent investment into the front line to address bed capacity and staffing levels in our county hospital.”