More than 144,500 bed days were lost at hospitals across the State in the first six months of this year as a result of the delayed discharge of patients
This was 70 per cent more than were lost over the same period last year, new figures show.
The figures provided by the Health Service Executive indicate the problem of delayed discharges is particularly acute in the Dublin area, with 27,279 bed days lost at St James’s Hospital alone.
A further 20,000 were lost at Beaumont, 18,000 at the Mater, 11,000 at Tallaght hospital, 8,000 at St Vincent’s and 7,700 at Connolly hospital in Blanchardstown.
Elsewhere over 5,700 bed days were lost at Cork University Hospital, over 4,500 at Wexford General Hospital, almost 4,000 at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, and more than 1,500 at Sligo General Hospital.
Dr James Reilly, Fine Gael’s health spokesman, obtained the figures in response to a parliamentary question.
The number of bed days lost to delayed discharges is like one of our major hospitals being closed down for a year,” he said.
He added that the delayed discharge of so many patients from acute beds was “a massive waste of resources” as some of these patients could be accommodated in cheaper nursing home beds.