Elderly patient waited four hours with broken hip due to ambulance delays

'You have the example of an elderly [patient] lying on the floor for four plus hours because they rang an ambulance at 3.15 and we’re not getting to them till four and half hours later,' Siptu ambulance sector president Greg Lyons said. Picture: Denis Minihane

An elderly patient in the South-West waited over four hours with a broken hip for an ambulance as high patient numbers led to delays.

New data from the HSE and Health Protection Surveillance Centre shows 414 people were hospitalised with the flu, among 1,628 cases during the first week of January. This is nearly double the numbers recorded the week before Christmas.