Heatstroke may be contributing to hospital overcrowding in Ireland

The HSE said seasonal factors can affect numbers attending hospital emergency departments 'including health complications of heat stress' but that no single factor is driving the summer surge. Stock picture: Alamy

Almost 9,500 people aged 75 or over waited longer than 24 hours to get a hospital bed this year, as climate change-induced heatstroke now becomes a factor that health chiefs must grapple with.

The HSE said seasonal factors can affect numbers, “including health complications of heat stress”, but that no single factor is driving the summer surge that has led to what advocates call “stark” and “hugely concerning” figures from hospital emergency departments so far this year.

It has warned of risks of “dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heatstroke” — especially for older people and other vulnerable people. Met Éireann said July was the second hottest since 1900.

The HSE said: “Factors driving emergency department attendances and waiting times are complex. Seasonal factors may influence attendances, including health complications of heat stress, but as a specific factor, this is difficult to disaggregate from data available.”

Overall, 27,791 patients spent more than 24 hours in an emergency department between January and June. In addition, 58,894 left without being seen, including 10,650 for May alone.

However, delays facing older patients have raised serious concerns.

Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Waterford, and Dublin

In June at Cork University Hospital, some 231 over-75s spent longer than 24 hours in the emergency department. At University Hospital Kerry, it stood at 31.

In University Hospital Limerick, 59 older patients waited that long. University Hospital Waterford was one of only four hospitals without patients in this category in June. The highest was St Vincent’s University Hospital in Dublin, which saw 178.

Delays increase risk of mortality  

Studies repeatedly show negative effects from these delays, including the risk of increased mortality and death.

Camille Loftus, head of advocacy and public affairs at Age Action, said: “It is a horrendous situation for anybody, but if you’re older and unwell, that’s an even more difficult situation to manage.

Those figures are really concerning, and it’s obviously really concerning for the staff too. 

She said there is “clearly a need for more beds” and called for more support for preventative medicine programmes.

“We’d like to see that because it will help reduce admissions but it’s never going to eliminate them,” she said. “And 24 hours is an enormous length of time to wait.”

Data released to David Cullinane

The data was released to Sinn Féin health spokesman David Cullinane, who said the figures are “very stark”.

He warned: “This is not just a winter crisis anymore. The figures for older people are especially worrying. Almost 9,500 patients aged 75 and over waited more than 24 hours.

These are often frail and vulnerable patients who should not be left sitting in an emergency department for that length of time. 

Nearly 59,000 people leaving an emergency department without being seen “should be a major warning sign for the Government”, he said, adding: “People do not leave an emergency department for no reason. In many cases, they have been waiting too long and feel they have no other option.”

At Mercy University Hospital in Cork, between 203 and 318 people left early every month. Similarly, at Tipperary University Hospital, between 143 and 222 people left. At University Hospital Waterford, between 225 and 400 left monthly.

“The staff are doing their best in very difficult conditions,” Mr Cullinane said.

He called for Government funding for published plans for “thousands of new hospital beds”, saying “announcing beds is not the same as building and staffing them”.

A spokesperson for HSE Dublin and South-East said its hospitals saw just over 10,000 more patients this year so far.

She linked the pressures to more older patients, seasonal illness, and “higher numbers of acute injuries and illnesses”.

In contrast, at Children’s Health Ireland, summer activity is as expected, despite a 2.7% jump in numbers compared to last year.

Its patient time in emergency departments is “improving all the time”, and it has seen a significant decline in the number of children leaving early.

• Niamh Griffin, Health Correspondent 

CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB