Tallaght patients waiting up to 48 hours in A&E as crisis deepens

Patients at Tallaght University Hospital are being forced to wait as long as 48 hours in the Emergency Department, with one Dublin TD warning the situation is spiralling out of control.

Labour’s Ciarán Ahern says the A&E is “a nightmare” for patients and staff alike, with average wait-times now 43 per cent longer than they were just five years ago.

Figures provided by the hospital show the typical wait has climbed from three and a half hours in 2020 to five hours this year, but for many patients, the reality is far worse.

“I’m constantly hearing from people who have spent upwards of 12 hours waiting to be seen,” Deputy Ahern said.

“All too often they then have to go through the indignity of spending the night on a trolley in an overcrowded corridor. I know of one patient who had to wait 48 hours in A&E to be seen.”

He said some people simply give up and leave after hours without treatment, while those who stay are left in overcrowded, stressful conditions.

Despite the crisis, Ahern praised the dedication of staff, saying the care provided when patients are finally seen is “second to none.”

But he warned frontline doctors and nurses are being pushed to the limit with too few resources.

“The Minister for Health needs to get a handle on this,” he said.

“The winter months will soon be approaching and the problem is only going to get worse unless urgent intervention happens now.”

The Dublin South-West TD pointed to several causes behind the growing delays: not enough beds in Tallaght Hospital, the absence of a public local injury unit, a shortage of nursing home places, and a lack of community care.

He also highlighted that the hospital’s catchment area has 40 per cent fewer GPs than the national average.

“These issues are solvable, but they will require leadership and commitment from Minister Carroll MacNeill,” he said.

“As a matter of urgency, we need to see additional onsite and offsite bed capacity delivered for Tallaght Hospital, and the construction of a new ward block must be at the top of the Minister’s list of priorities.”