Emergency department bottlenecks can only be fixed by taking a societal approach
Patients in an emergency department waiting room. Picture posed. Photo: Getty
Last week I spent five hours as a family member in an emergency department. It was evening and the waiting room was full as I arrived with my son, who had a nasty fracture following a spill on the rugby pitch. After repositioning of the broken bone, pain relief and a plaster cast, he was more comfortable and ready for home. We agreed that it had been a gruelling but necessary experience.
A few days later, a HSE report stated that the average waiting time in EDs around the country was seven hours, with waiting times ranging from 3.7 hours to more than 9.9 hours for some departments.