Sinn Féin TD for Dublin South West Seán Crowe has called on the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly to urgently implement a Zero Tolerance Plan to end long emergency department waits.

Teachta Crowe’s remarks came as new data from the HSE shows that the average patient experience time to admission at Tallaght University Hospital’s emergency department was 21 hours.

Teachta Crowe said the most shocking revelation in the figures was that over 200 patients over 75 had to wait more than 12 hours for admission in TUH already this year.

Teachta Crowe said:

“New data from the HSE shows that the average patient experience time to admission at Tallaght University Hospital’s emergency department was 21 hours.

“The most shocking revelation in the figures was that over 200 patients over 75 had to wait more than 12 hours for admission in TUH already this year.

“This is no way to be treating our older citizens. Eight people over 75 had an admission time of over two days and TUH is only one hospital. No Health Minister should be able to stand over that.

“Patients have been suffering the torturous consequences of overcrowding for years, but these figures show that the problem has reached a new extreme.

“The HSE target is all patients are to be admitted within 6 hours. Only 1 in 9 patients over 75 were seen in less than six hours in TUH this year.

“12+ hour waits in emergency departments are unacceptable for any patient, but especially for elderly people who are often presenting with complex and multiple health needs, as well as mobility issues.

“Some hospitals have been very successful in reorientating care away from emergency departments. St Vincent’s Hospital have the EDITH system which allows for patients to be assessed by an ED doctor and occupational therapist at home. The Pathfinder Programme at Beaumont is another such programme aimed at keeping older people who have phoned the emergency services in their own home rather than transporting them to an emergency department.

“All hospitals must act on each other’s successes and failures. It is the Minister’s responsibility to ensure that the HSE is implementing best practice in each and every hospital.

“We urgently need a zero-tolerance plan to end excessive emergency department waits.”