Over 3,500 patients left University Hospital Limerick before receiving treatment in the first six months of 2026.
New HSE figures show 50,313 total patients presented at the region’s main hospital between January and June of this year.
The figured released to Sinn Féin TD David Cullinane through a Parliamentary Question show 3,617 patients left the Dooradoyle facility before being admitted.
The figure seen at University Hospital Limerick was markedly higher than was seen at both Cork University Hospital and Galway University Hospitals, which recorded 2,118 and 1,941 respectively.
The HSE also confirmed 1,991patients in UHL faced waiting times of 24 hours or more prior to being seen.
It represents 7% of all patients nationwide who spent 24 hours or more in an emergency department.
Of the total number of patients who faced an extended waiting time at UHL, 26% or 525, were aged 75 years or over.
Meanwhile, the average waiting time for admission so far this year was 11 hours and 40 minutes.
