A whopping 5,642 people including 2,237 children left Dublin emergency departments without being admitted in December.
Figures released to Sinn Fein Health spokesman Deputy David Cullinane by the Health Information and Quality Authority show that the number of people who presented at emergency departments in Dublin but weren't admitted in December has increased significantly since the same month in 2019.
During the month, 1,244 patients left the Mater without being admitted, compared to 878 in December 2019. CHI's emergency departments in Crumlin and Temple St saw 2,237 children leave without being seen in December, up from 980 during the same time in 2019.
Read more: 'It was like a warzone' - Dublin man leaves Beaumont A&E after 16 hour wait in 'horrific' conditions
St James' was the only Dublin hospital that saw a decrease in December 2022 compared to December 2019, with 526 and 619 patients leaving without being admitted respectively.
The average wait times from registration to admission in both St Vincent's University Hospital and Tallaght Hospital reached over 23 hours during December, while children in CHI emergency departments faced average wait times of 14.5 hours.
Dublin Bay South Sinn Fein TD Chris Andrews slammed the waiting times as "beyond a disgrace". He told Dublin Live: "To see over 75s waiting times at St. Vincent’s increase by 38% to over 27 hours is an absolute disgrace.
"We see that the average waiting time for a child in Dublin to be seen has more that doubled to nearly 15 hours. It is shameful to see such long times for children and the elderly to be see. No one should have to face should long waits, especially not children and the elderly.
"We urgently need to see some political will to bring about change, because now, it appears to absent. Both the Minister for Health and the Minister for Higher Education need to engage to see an increase healthcare training places in the coming years.
"And right now, we need to see the Minister engaging with healthcare staff, as so many are being priced out of been able to live and work in Dublin. The cost-of-living crisis that this Government are failing to tackle, is having a detrimental impact on staffing levels."
This week Dublin Live spoke to a patient who left Beaumont's emergency department after waiting over 16 hours to be seen for serious dizziness and other head issues. The patient described the hospital as "a warzone" and said conditions inside were "terrible and crowded".
"When you walk into the room to be triaged, there's at least 10 to 12 beds on top of each other with patients lying in them," he said.
"How embarrassing is it for them? I'm looking at those patients as I'm being triaged, there's no privacy for them.
"I've never experienced anything like it in my life. The place was like a warzone."
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