Shocking 984 people over 75 left in A&E for more than 24 hours
By Mary Dennehy
NEARLY 1,000 people over the age of 75 were left waiting more than 24 hours in Tallaght University Hospital’s A&E department in the first three months of this year.
According to figures released by the HSE, 984 people aged 75 and older waited longer than 24 hours in the local emergency department, despite these lengthy waiting times being in breach of the HSE’s Patient Experience Time (PET).
In a response to a Fianna Fail Parliamentary Question, the HSE confirmed that nationally 14,757 people aged 75 and older were left waiting in hospital A&E departments for longer than 24 hours in January, February and March of this year.
Locally, 984 people were left waiting in Tallaght – 325 in January, 345 in February and 314 in March.
Speaking on the figures, Dublin Mid-West TD John Curran said: “These figures are shocking and disgraceful.
“Incredibly, the total nationally across all Emergency Departments is 14,757 for January to March 2018 and this is actually 3,496 greater than for the whole of 2017 when 11,261 were caught in the same situation.
“The HSE target is that all attendees aged 75 years and over attending Emergency Department’s would be discharged or admitted within 24 hours of registration.
Sets the bar very low
“This is a target that already sets the bar very low and it was badly missed in 2017.
“However, the worsening so far in 2018 is just appalling.”
Deputy Curran added: “Surely to force 14,757 over 75’s to wait so long in an Emergency Department is a form of elder abuse. It can only be seen as a breach of basic human rights and dignity.
“On top of this it must surely be compounding the health issues that brought them to an Emergency Department in the first place.
“We need to break this vicious cycle and the recommendations of the bed capacity review must be acted on as a matter of urgency.”
In its reply the HSE said that it “strives” to ensure no patient remains in ED for over 24 hours however, it added that all available inpatient beds are allocated based on “patient acuity”.
In recent years, management of Tallaght University Hospital has highlighted the local health facility’s aging catchment area, with communities within the hospital’s immediate vicinity set to see a projected growth of 199 per cent in people over the age of 75 by 2031 (according to hospital research).
Lack of beds
Couple this with the fact that the hospital is operating well beyond its capacity due to a serious lack of beds and the number of over 75s left waiting more than 24 hours in A&E looks set to rise.
In response to a separate question about the high level of activity at Tallaght’s A&E by Fianna Fail councillor Charlie O’ Connor, the CEO of the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group, Trevor O Callaghan, this month said that there is a “sustained increase in ED attendances” at Tallaght.
He confirmed that there was a seven per cent increase in A&E attendances at Tallaght in January and February of this year when compared to the same period in 2017 – with attendance by persons over the age of 75 years increasing by 53 per cent since 2012.
Mr O’Callaghan said in his reply that it is “clear” that the current demand for services exceeds Tallaght Hospital’s current available capacity and that the HSE and Dublin Midlands Hospital Group [which includes Tallaght Hospital, James’, Naas General Hospital, Portlaoise Hospital and Tullamore] will “continue to work” with Tallaght Hospital to address “these additional capacity requirements”.
