NEW figures have revealed that 1,000 appointments were cancelled at Letterkenny University Hospital in the first four months of this year.
The figures also showed that in March patients at LUH waited an average of 11 hours to be admitted to the hospital from the emergency department, with patients over the age of 75 waiting for more than 15 hours to be admitted.
Meanwhile, during the first three months of this year, 638 registered patients left the Emergency Department before being admitted, compared to 331 in the same period in 2019.
Following the release of the figures, Sinn Féin TD for Donegal, Pearse Doherty, said ‘Minister Charlie McConalogue cannot stand idly by while record waiting lists, record waiting times and record cancellations spiral out of control.’
Deputy Doherty called on all Donegal TDs to support solutions to this crisis being brought forward by Sinn Féin health spokesperson David Cullinane TD this week.
Deputy Doherty said, “Figures released to Sinn Féin health spokesperson David Cullinane show that over 1,000 appointments were cancelled at Letterkenny University Hospital in the first four months of this year.
“In March, patients at LUH waited an average of 11 hours to be admitted to the hospital from the emergency department, with patients over the age of 75 waiting for more than 15 hours to be admitted.
“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,” said Deputy Doherty.
He also claimed that the trolley scandal is now worse than ever and ‘has become a year-round threat to patient safety.’
“In Letterkenny University Hospital, 513 patients were admitted without a hospital bed in April, up from 255 last year.
“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,” said Deputy Doherty.
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