Hospital denies patients were treated in mortuary

One of Dublin’s largest hospitals has denied claims that patients were treated in a mortuary.

Tallaght hospital said a report originating from internal investigations was “untrue and without foundation“.

But Labour’s health spokeswoman Liz McManus said the situation was “unprecedented” and showed just how serious the crisis in Ireland's health service was.

The issue was raised in the Dáil by Ms McManus, but was ruled out of order for discussion.

She said in the Dail: “Could I ask the Taoiseach is he aware that A&E patients in Tallaght hospital are being treated in the mortuary?”

She said later: “The report revealed that patients were occupying trolleys in corridors, resuscitation bays and most shockingly in the mortuary attached to the A&E department at the hospital.

“I think this is unprecedented and it shows just how serious the crisis is now in our health service.”

The report was published in a medical publication but originated from an internal report.

Last night, Tallaght hospital said in a statement that the report was without foundation.

It said that an A&E room originally used to receive patients who were brought in dead was now sometimes used to treat and accommodate emergency patients.

“Since the hospital opened in 1998 there has been a substantial increase in the number of patients attending the A&E Department and in particular a substantial increase in the number of those who need admission to the hospital,” it said in a statement.

“This has put considerable pressure on the hospital as a whole and on the A&E department in particular.”

Fine Gael’s health spokeswoman Olivia Mitchell said the Government should keep beds open as a priority.

She said: “We have already heard of patients being treated in ambulances, in hospital car parks, in corridors.”

A spokesman for the Department of Health said he had not heard anything about patients being left in hospital mortuaries.

He said: “I’ve heard of patients being kept on trolleys but never on trolleys in a morgue.”