There have been over 350 deaths in local emergency departments in the last five years, according to new figures. The data from the country's 26 EDs was released to Irish Medical Times under the Freedom of Information Act. It shows that over 5,000 people died in emergency departments in the past five years. The national figures show 5,428 deaths in Emergency Departments nationwide in the past five years.
Deaths at Sligo University Hospital more than doubled in that timeframe, increasing from 18 in 2019 to 38 last year with 150 deaths in total. Both Beaumont Hospital in Dublin and Cork University Hospital also saw deaths at their EDs double in the past five years. There were 1,210 deaths in 2022, 182 more than the 2019 figure of 979. Midlands Regional Hospital Mullingar saw 137 deaths at its ED in the past five years, with 29 in 2023. Meanwhile, there were 72 deaths at Portiuncula Hospital's Emergency Department, with the highest number of those -24 - occurring last year.
The figures include deaths which took place in Emergency Departments as well as people who were pronounced dead on arrival. In response, a HSE spokesperson highlighted the increasing number of patients attending Emergency Departments in recent years. There were more than 1.47 million new and returning ED attendances last year, compared to just over 1.36 million in 2019.
