Tullamore hospital wait times now below the HSE average

Tullamore hospital is one of a minority hospitals to record a a decrease in patient wait times over the past decade, according to figures provided to Aontu leader, Peader Tóibín, in response to a parliamentary questiion.

The figures show that the average wait time for patients attending the emergency department at Tullamore hospital is now 5.2 hours, compared to 6.1 hours in 2015, and is below the HSE's own target of having 95% of emergency department patients seen within a six hour period.

Wait times at the Midland Regional Hospital in Mullingar were also below the HSE's target, recording a modest increase from 5.6 to 5.9 over the past decade, while Portiuncula hospital in Ballinasloe was above the HSE target, with patients facing an average wait time of 6.7 hours compared to just four hours in 2015.

The hospital with the highest patient wait time, and more than twice the target set by the HSE, is Tallaght University Hospital where the wait is 12.6 hours, closely followed by Naas Hospital in Kildare at 11.4 hours.

The HSE uses a mechanism known as patient experience time (PET) to measure the length of time patients spend in emergency departments at hospital around the country, which covers the entire visit from when a patient is first registered to when they either get transferred to a bed or are discharged.

The national average wait time is now 7.2 hours, which is up from six hours in 2015, but marginally lower than the 2022 figure of 7.5 hours.

The new Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll-McNeill, has pledged to tackle ongoing issues in the hospital sector such as waiting times and overcrowding with the introduction of rosters to ensure that senior consultants and other staff are on duty over weekends. Talks with unions on this issue are due to get underway over the next two weeks.