Frustrations grow over excessive delays at Mayo emergency department
The ongoing problem of excessive delays for patients attending the emergency department of Mayo University Hospital is one that seems to be here to stay.
Reports have emerged this week of a patient having to attend the facility on three consecutive days before being called for an x-ray examination for which they were referred by a GP.
The person went home after an hour and a half on day one after being told there was a 10-hour delay.
The patient was further told it would be quicker to travel to Roscommon University Hospital for the x-ray.
On day two, the person had to leave after four hours before returning on day three to finally get the call after another four-hour wait.
The worst thing about sitting in the waiting room is that you are reluctant to leave in case you miss your name being called.
Such an endurance test is particularly demanding and stressful for elderly and very young children, accompanied by their parents.
In fact, it’s appalling. Shameful even.
As stated by The Connaught Telegraph before, the modus operandi at the centre leaves a great deal to be desired.
Meanwhile, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has said the government must take action to tackle hospital overcrowding as over 8,717 patients were left without a bed in April.
The statistics included 320 in respect of Mayo University Hospital.
It was disconcerting to learn that University Hospital Limerick (UHL) had the highest number with 1,735 patients left on trolleys during the month.
Despite the provision of 98 new beds and the recruiting and funding of additional consultants, doctors, nurses and medical staff in an overall investment in excess of €100 million, UHL still experiences the worst overcrowding of any hospital in the State.
Needless to day, there is a need for a collective and immediate response from the government and the HSE to take control of this extremely serious situation.
HIQA recently carried out an unannounced visit to UHL and may or may not provide the answers in a forthcoming report.
The reason the issues being experienced at UHL are being cited here is because there are plans to expand the emergency department at Mayo University Hospital over the coming years, the latest date given for work to start being some time in 2025.
And despite a widely-held perception that this will address the existing problems at the Castlebar centre, the Limerick situation reveals that such will be far from the reality.
The way in which our hospitals are managed is clearly falling short of requirements and it’s remarkable that all the brains within the HSE have not yet come up with a solution.
Because what’s happening now is simply unsustainable as hospitals, ironically, are clearly not the safest places to be for people who are not very well. Sad to say.