A West Clare Councillor insists data relating to emergency department attendances is vital in deciding where and how to invest in healthcare services.
Responding to questions from Kilkee Fianna Fáil Councillor Cillian Murphy at the Regional Health Forum West, the UL Hosptial’s Group said records on where patients originated from or their acuity level aren’t kept and would require a manual review of each presentation to do so.
The Group has revealed however, that of the nearly 80,000 who attended the ED at UHL in 2022, 27% of those did so outside of the operating hours of local injury units or medical assessment units.
Councillor Cillian Murphy believes the data he requested would give a clearer picture of where resources need to be prioritised.
Listen back to the full interview below:
Meanwhile, almost 22,000 people over-75 waited over 24 hours in an emergency department last year, before being admitted or discharged.
It’s one in every nine people in this age-group who went to an ED.
The worst was University Hospital Limerick, where over 2,700 waited more than 24 hours.
