Emergency departments in “permanent state of crisis” say Soc Dems

Over 70,000 people left an emergency department without being seen or completing their treatment between January and July of this year.

The figures, obtained by the Social Democrats from the HSE, were called “bleak” by the party, and highlights the “permanent state of crisis” the Irish healthcare system finds itself in per party health spokesperson Pádraig Rice.

The figure of 70,000 marks 7% of all people who present themselves to an emergency department.

Dublin’s Mater and St James’s Hospitals were at the epicentre of the crisis, where 9,000 and 7,000 patients respectively left EDs without completing treatment.

In the same period, almost 32,000 people waited longer than 24 hours at EDs around the country to be admitted or discharged, with more than 400,000 waiting more than six hours.

Rice said, “our emergency departments are in a permanent state of crisis, with patients paying the price for the failure of successive governments to substantially increase capacity, invest in community services, and reorientate the health service away from acute settings.”

“According to Eurostat, Ireland had around 290 beds per 100,000 people in 2024 – the fifth lowest in Europe. Of the 297 beds to be delivered in 2025, only 196 were open and operational by the end of last year. And beds that were not delivered were incorporated into the figure for this year, which, at just 177, is significantly short of the 300 the ESRI says are required annually.”

The Cork TD said, “we will not address overcrowding in hospitals unless we expand capacity in the community. Lack of access to GPs is a major issue, particularly in rural communities, commuter belts and some urban areas.”

He noted that there is also a shortage of step-down beds and home care, with well over 100,000 bed days lost due to delayed discharges last year.

“Under Sláintecare, the health service was supposed to be reoriented away from hospitals, but primary care services continue to be starved of resources,” Rice said.

“The fact that 70,000 people left an ED without being seen or completing their treatment between January and July should be setting off alarm bells in the Department of Health. The minister must start listening to the firsthand experiences of frontline staff and management instead of dismissing their concerns.

He commented, “the figures I obtained from the HSE highlight the significant gap between the minister’s statements and the harsh reality on the ground.”