Over 4,300 patients have left the MidWest Region’s only Emergency Department without receiving treatment so far this year.
New HSE figures show the MidWest had the second-highest proportion of patients who decided not to wait for care nationwide.
Between January and July, approximately 58,972 patients attended University Hospital Limerick’s Emergency Department.
Of those, 4,378 or 7.4% decided not to wait for treatment and ultimately left the hospital without receiving care.
When compared to other Emergency Departments, University Hospital Limerick proportionately ranks tenth from bottom when compared to the amount of patients leaving other hospitals without receiving care.
St James’ Hospital in Dublin had a did not wait rate of over 17% and Tallaght Hospital’s self discharge level was 12.6%, but because the Dublin and Midlands area is served by 7 Emergency Departments, the average across the region was 7.4% , which equals the rate recorded at University Hospital Limerick.
The data also shows that from patient registration to admission in Emergency Departments, UHL had among the lowest waiting times in the country at 8.3 hours.
While 50% of patients admitted to University Hospital Limerick’s ED were seen within the first six hours.
Based on average monthly figures, approximately 7,503 patients can be projected to leave the MidWest’s main hospital without completing their care this year, which would be a marginal improvement on the 7,694 recorded last year.
