Scans and X-rays add hours to emergency department wait times, study finds

Patients needing any kind of radiological treatment had a mean stay in the ED of four hours longer than patients who did not need X-rays or scans of any kind, study found. Picture: iStock

Just 40.2% of emergency department patients were seen within the HSE's six-hour target, with delays often linked to waits for tests.

A new study has called for a reduction in the time it takes for processing scans and blood tests by improving hospital systems to help cut the time patients wait in emergency departments (EDs).