Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 16 October 2019
161. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health the number of emergency department attendances at Cavan General Hospital in each of the years 2012 to 2018 and to date in 2019, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42402/19]
View answerThis is a very busy period for our health services, with many hospitals reporting significant numbers of patient attendances. For the first nine months of 2019, the number of patients attending hospital EDs increased by 3%, and the number of ED admissions increased by 1.4% compared to the same period last year.
In the first six months of 2019, our health services managed better and the numbers of patients waiting on trolleys nationally were 4.7% lower than for the same period last year despite the significant increase in demand.
However, TrolleyGAR figures show 10,424 people were counted on trolleys in the month of September, which was 14.3% higher than last month (9,119) and 40.4% higher than September 2018 (7,422). Trolley numbers for the year to date from January to September were 81,956, compared to 76,868 for the same period last year.
With regard to the specific question the Deputy has asked, I have asked the HSE to respond directly with the information requested.
