273 leave Mayo emergency department without treatment

A Mayo TD has said people are going without medical care because of spiralling waiting times in emergency departments across the west.

Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh was speaking as figures for the first three months of the year showed that 2,701 people left emergency department across the region after registration and before being seen - including 273 at Mayo University Hospital.

She stated: “Record waiting lists, record waiting times and record cancellations spiral out of control.

“Figures released to Sinn Féin also show that there were 212 appointments cancelled by Mayo University Hospital at the beginning of the year.

"This has largely been caused by staff being reallocated to emergency departments.

“Record hospital cancellations show that the government's answer to health service chaos is shifting the burden from one area to another without solving any of the problems.

“This is not a solution to the deepening crisis in our health service, which is at breaking point.

“The trolley scandal which Fine Gael pledged to end is now worse than ever. It has become a year-round threat to patient safety.

“The government has no plan to fix the health service. They are only making it worse. The longer Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are in power, the more this scandalous situation will continue to spiral out of control."