THE AVERAGE WAITING time to access an emergency department last month was over 11 hours, according to new HSE figures.

The two highest wait times were both in Cork, with average waiting times for emergency rooms in Mercy University Hospital being 21.6 hours and Cork University Hospital being 19.6 hours.

People over the age of 75 also faced longer wait times in some hospitals, with one hospital having a wait time of over 27 hours.

The figures were released by the HSE to Sinn Féin health spokesperson David Cullinane through a parliamentary question.

Alongside hospitals in Cork, Tallaght Hospital and St Vincent’s Hospital also had significant wait times at an average of 18.4 hours and 16.8 hours respectively.

Cullinane said that hospitals across the country are under “severe pressure” due to overcrowding.

“Major hospitals across the State remain under severe pressure from emergency department overcrowding. They do not have the capacity to handle the patients that are coming their way,” said Cullinane 

Alongside long wait times across the board, people over 75 are facing longer waiting times than people under 75, with three hospitals having wait times of over 20 hours.

In Cork University Hospital, people over 75 faced an average of 27.5 hours to be seen at the emergency department. An average of 23.8 hours was seen in Mercy University Hospital, while there was average of 20.5 hours in University Hospital Limerick.

The Emergency Medicine Programme for Ireland has a target that 95% of patients should be either admitted or discharged within six-hours of arriving at an ED

Figures from HIQA’s National Inpatient Experience Survey in 2019 found that just 30% of people reported being admitted to a ward within the target waiting time of six hours.

Some reported waiting significantly longer, with 4% of almost 8,000 respondents saying they were waiting 48 hours or more before they were admitted to a ward.

Cullinane criticised the Government for not presenting a plan to tackle emergency department overcrowding, additionally raising concerns about removing emergency care from Navan Hospital.

“The Minister for Health needs to halt and reverse the downgrading of emergency services at Navan. He should instead put his efforts into expanding emergency, community, and primary care services across the State.”

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar yesterday said that the Government had not sanctioned the closing of the emergency department in Navan, following the HSE outlining plans for a 24-hour Medical Assessment Unit to replace the ED.