LETTERKENNY University Hospital had the third highest number of returned patients to its emergency department within the Saolta group.
A total of 781 patients came back to the hospital’s emergency department between September to December, 2021.
The highest number of patients to return to the hospital was in November (215), followed by October, when 203 patients re-presented at the department.
Some 183 patients returned to the emergency department in December 2021, while 180 patients came back to the local hospital’s accident and emergency department in September.
Galway University Hospital saw the highest number of return emergency department attendances (1,878) within the Saolta group.
In all, there were 15,869 emergency presentations to LUH’s emergency department between the months of September to December, 2021.
The latest figures are contained in the HSE’s Management Data Report.
Nationally, nearly 76,000 patients walked away from EDs in 2021 without finishing their treatment, an increase of 66 per cent on 2020.
The HSE says emergency departments are for people with serious injuries or illness but many others go there when they do not need to.
It says patients are treated by priority, and because of that, some patients will less serious needs may choose to get healthcare elsewhere.
A HSE spokesperson told the Donegal News that in order to ensure patient safety, EDs and their associated hospitals, must clinically prioritise those who must be treated first and those who may need to wait, or attend a more appropriate care setting.