'ALARMING FIGURES' The HSE released the figures regarding the Emergency Department at MUH to Sinn Féin TD Rose Conway Walsh. 1,247 people left MUH without treatment so far this year

Anton McNulty An average of six patients a day who attend the Emergency Department of Mayo University Hospital leave without receiving treatment. Figures released by the HSE to Mayo TD Rose Conway-Walsh show that 1,247 people have left the emergency department of MUH so far in 2022 without receiving treatment. The figures are accurate up to July 28 and it equates to an average of six patients a day leaving the emergency department without getting treatment. The figure were released to the Belmullet-based Sinn Féin TD after she asked for the number of people who presented to the emergency department of MUH but leave prior to be seen each month to date in 2022. Commenting on the figures, she said that the situation in the Castlebar hospital seems to have deteriorated further in the last couple of months. “1,247 leaving the emergency department without treatment over the last six months is extremely concerning. The situation seems to have deteriorated further in the last couple of months. “There is no denying that this is driven by the long waiting times. The Minister for Health has informed me that the average waiting time to be seen in MUH is just under seven hours. “That is the average - despite 1,247 people leaving with being seen to by medical staff. These are truly alarming figures and show an emergency department in disarray.

12-hour wait “As it is an average, we know that many people are waiting far longer. I have been contacted by people whose elderly relatives have been left waiting more than 12 hours. “I know the staff in MUH work extremely hard and are not responsible for the situation. The government and HSE have been failing patients, their families, and staff for far too long,” she said. The HSE figures show that June was the worst month for patients leaving the emergency department without treatment with 230 leaving followed by 211 in May and 180 in March. The figure for July up to July 28 was 179 while the number who left in April was 172 and 147 for February and 128 for January. The HSE stated that the data relates to patients who presented to the Emergency Department at MUH and ‘did not wait to be seen’. “The data reflects ‘new’, ‘scheduled return’ and ‘unscheduled return’ attendances where the patients did not wait to be seen,” the HSE statement read.

Trolley watch The latest Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisations (INMO) trolley watch campaign figures show that as of the morning of August 8, there was 20 patients waiting for a bed in Mayo University Hospital. Of those 20 patients, none were in the emergency department and eleven were in hospital wards. Deputy Conway-Walsh said the figures were another example of the emergency department being in disarray and that change was needed in the health system. “We need fundamental change, and this can only come from an immediate government intervention. Sinn Féin is proposing a 10 percent increase each year in health and social care graduate places for the next five years. “In addition, in the short-term, international recruitment is key to filling vacancies in the health service. We need to attract Irish graduates back home, and we need to compete for highly skilled international talent. “A Sinn Féin government would set annual training and recruitment targets over a ten-year period, across the range of professions and across higher education institutions,” she stated.