HSE figures released to Sinn Fein Mayo TD Rose Conway-Walsh 'show that 1,247 people have left the emergency department of Mayo University Hospital so far this year without receiving treatment, as waiting times continue to rise'.
Deputy Conway-Walsh said: "1,247 leaving the emergency department without treatment over the last six months is extremely concerning. The situation seems to have deteriorated further in the last couple of months.
"There is no denying that this is driven by the long waiting times. The Minister for Health has informed me that the average waiting time to be seen in MUH is just under seven hours.
"That is the average - despite 1,247 people leaving without being seen to by medical staff. These are truly alarming figures and show an emergency department in disarray.
"As it is an average, we know that many people are waiting far longer. I have been contacted by people whose elderly relatives have been left waiting more than 12 hours.
"I know the staff in MUH work extremely hard and are not responsible for the situation. The government and HSE have been failing patients, their families, and staff for far too long.
"We need fundamental change, and this can only come from an immediate government intervention. Sinn Féin is proposing a 10% increase each year in health and social care graduate places for the next five years.
"In addition, in the short-term, international recruitment is key to filling vacancies in the health service. We need to attract Irish graduates back home, and we need to compete for highly skilled international talent.
"A Sinn Féin government would set annual training and recruitment targets over a 10-year period, across the range of professions and across higher education institutions."
