743 patients faced delays of more than nine hours at Mayo University Hospital in February

In February 2026, 743 of 3,562 people who presented to the Emergency Department waited more than nine hours to be admitted or discharged. Nine patients waited more than 24 hours. Another 743 people waited between six and nine hours, while 2,067 waited less than six hours. The delays were linked to a lack of step-down facilities in the county, which reduced discharge capacity. An overwhelmed Emergency Department was also causing delays in ambulance handovers, increasing ambulance response times, and creating an interconnected crisis. The average wait time at MUH was reported as 6.6 hours, a 65% increase on 2015 levels. Large numbers of people nationwide have left emergency departments without being seen due to long waits.

"Figures released by Mayo University Hospital show that in February 2026, 743 of the 3,562 people who presented to the Emergency Department waited more than nine hours to either be admitted or discharged. A further nine patients waited more than 24 hours in the Mayo ED. The figures, released to Mayo TD Paul Lawless, also show that a further 743 people waited between six and nine hours, while 2,067 patients waited less than six hours."

"Speaking about the figures, Deputy Lawless said a lack of step-down facilities in the county was affecting discharge capacity, while an overwhelmed ED was causing delays in ambulance handovers and increasing ambulance response times, creating what he described as an "interconnected crisis". "Chaos in our hospitals seems to be worsening each year and our ambulance workers are feeling that pressure too," he said."

""At the start of this year we had the horrific case of Stephen Lavelle, who died after no ambulance was available and his family had to drive him fifty miles to hospital, "When our ED is overwhelmed, ambulances are left waiting hours for handovers and are not available in the community. That is the reality of what overcrowding in our hospital means on the ground," he added."

"Deputy Lawless noted that figures released to him last May showed the average wait time at MUH was 6.6 hours, which he said represented a 65pc increase on 2015 levels. "Since 2017 roughly half a million people across the country have left emergency departments without being seen, such is the wait," he said today. Describing the figures as "unacceptable", Deputy Lawless called on the HSE and the Minister for Health to "listen to frontline workers"."

Read at Irish Independent