'Alarming number' of patients waiting more then 24 hours in ED

The figures were released recently by the HSE.

An “alarming number” of patients are waiting more than 24 hours in Cavan General Hospital’s Emergency Department.

Figures released by Sinn Féin show 1,670 people were waiting more than a day in the ED between the start of 2015 to date.

The highest number, 410, was recorded last year when hospitals were under considerable pressure during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Numbers have varied over the years with some seeing improvements on those previous. 2017 saw the lowest number waiting more than 24 hours, with 85, that increased to 115 the following year.

Local party TD Pauline Tully says the figures, which were released by the HSE, show wait times look set to return to pre-pandemic levels this year.

"Sinn Féin has obtained new figures from the HSE that expose an alarming number of people have been left waiting for more than 24 hours to be seen at Cavan General Hospital Emergency Department. Behind every number is a patient who needed timely care and was left to wait for far too long.”

She’s warned the wait times are causing hardship for patients and their families but she was clear the blame does not lie at the feet of frontline staff.

“The pain and distress caused by these delays is considerable. People attend emergency departments because they require urgent care. This scandal is happening because of process and leadership failures across the health service.

"Let me be clear, the staff at Cavan General Hospital are doing an incredible job, working under pressure to do their very best to serve our community. But they are being let down by a lack of funding, planning and leadership by the government.”