People aged over 75 had an average waiting time of nearly 22 hours in University Hospital Kerry’s Emergency Department in July.
That’s according to HSE figures provided to Kerry Sinn Féin TD Pa Daly, through his party’s spokesperson on health, David Cullinane.
Deputy Daly says waiting times at emergency departments stem from repeated failures of the government to plan adequately.
Figures from the HSE show 28% of patients at UHK had to wait over 24 hours to be admitted during August and September.
During the same period, there was a wait time of at least 15 hours for all patients.
This is up from 14.2 hours earlier this year, and it represents a 230% increase since 2015.
Across the entire third quarter, waiting times at UHK’s emergency department were above the state average of 12 hours.
Kerry Sinn Féin TD Pa Daly says these are not good enough, and many are facing a brutal winter.
He says the government’s winter health plan is little more than a smokescreen, as the real work should have been done over a multi-year period.
Deputy Daly is calling for a capital investment programme in step down facilities and primary care centres, along with workforce planning and staff retention measures.
He says care can and should be delivered in as many ways as possible to alleviate the burden on hospitals, including GP out of hours care and late pharmacies.
The Sinn Féin TD added staff and patients deserve so much better.
