More than 200 patients were forced to wait for more than 12 hours at Letterkenny University Hospital’s emergency department during April, according to new figures.
The figures include 19 people who waited for more than 24 hours for treatment.
The average wait time in Letterkenny University Hospital’s emergency department for a patient over 75 is 6 hours, compared to 4.5 hours for those under 75.
Sixty-three older patients over the age of 75 waited for more than 12 hours, while seven waited for over 24 hours last month.
Records from Letterkenny University Hospital show that 1,004 patients were seen within 0-6 hours and 291 had to wait between 12 and 24 hours.
The figures were provided to Sinn Féin’s Health spokesperson David Cullinane through a written Parliamentary Question.
He called on the Minister for Health to implement a Zero Tolerance Plan to end long emergency department waits.
He said that the waits are unacceptable for any patient, but especially for elderly people who are often presenting with complex and multi health needs, as well as mobility issues.
“Patients have been suffering the torturous consequences of overcrowding for years, but these figures show that the problem has reached a new extreme,” Cullinane said.
“It is both shocking and frightening for those patients and anyone looking on.”
Cullinane said that the causes of the problem are due to low hospital capacity, poor management of resources, delayed discharges, low out-of-hours GP coverage and a lack of alternative services in the community.
