David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to quote some figures. Emergency department waiting times for an admission on average in July, for all patients, was 12.8 hours; and for those over 75 years it was 15.3 hours. In August, the wait was 12.5 hours for all patients and 14.8 for those over 75 years. In September, the wait was 12.7 hours and for those over 75 years it was 14.8 hours. As many as 35,000 people waited over 24 hours in an emergency department for admission to a bed. These are figures that I cannot contemplate and I cannot even understand how any of this happened. In July, a patient aged over 75 years in Galway University Hospital waited 9.4 days. How in God's name could any patient be left waiting for 9.4 days never mind a patient aged over 75 years? In August, a patient aged over 75 years waited 8.9 hours, and seven patients waited over 4.5 days across Cork University Hospital, University Hospital Limerick and University Hospital Kerry. Explain to me how somebody can wait 9.4 days for admission to a bed in a hospital. Surely to God there is a better way of managing a patient like that.