300 people ‘left waiting more than 48 hours to see a doctor’

ALMOST 300 people waited longer than 48 hours in A&E to be seen by a doctor during the month of May – with thousands more waiting longer than six hours.

The survey of 13,000 patients discharged from hospital was carried out earlier this year, in May – typically one of the quieter months in our hospitals. It revealed that 5,997 people (69%) said they waited longer than the HSE’s six-hour target waiting time. Of those, 259 people (3%) reported waiting 48 hours or more before they were finally admitted to a ward.

Overall, 84% of patients reported a good experience when being treated in hospital; however, long waiting times in A&E were highlighted as one of the worst problems impacting the service. One patient said: ‘The waiting time in the emergency department is ridiculous. The only reason I was taken in when I did was because I fainted. Although I was then on a trolley in the corridor, I was still waiting for 12 hours to be seen by a doctor.’

The National Patient Experience Survey was conducted by the Health Information and Quality Authority. Minister for Health Simon Harris confirmed the expansion of the survey to maternity services is also in development. ‘This piece of work is an essential service for policy makers, service providers and regulators,’ he said. ‘It gives patients a direct say in improving the quality and the safety of our health services.’

The HSE noted that 84% of patients rated their hospital experience as good or very good.

It also published an outline of work currently under way across our hospitals to improve patients’ experience.