115 deaths at Portlaoise hospital's emergency department in last five years
New figures show numbers that died in hospital emergency departments between 2019 and 2023
There were 115 deaths in Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise's emergency department in the last five years, new figures show.
Figures published by the Irish Medical Times following a series of Freedom of Information requests reveal that across the country more than 5,000 patients died in hospital emergency departments or were dead on arrival between 2019 and 2023.
The figures indicate that hospitals remain the only option for many families despite commitments to boosting community palliative care.
In Portlaoise hospital the highest number of deaths recorded in that period was 2023 when 33 people died in its emergency setting. The years 2022 and 2021 both saw 21 people die, 22 passed away in the emergency department in 2020 and 18 in 2019.
Data from the country’s 26 EDs shows that Cork University Hospital saw the highest number of patients die in its emergency setting. Last year 158 people were pronounced dead there, down from 183 the year before. In 2019, 109 e passed
Compared to the pre-pandemic year, ED fatalities rose in 17 hospitals in 2023. Three sites – Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, University Hospital Galway and Sligo University Hospital – saw more than twice as many deaths in its ED compared to 2019.