Over 400 patients walked away from the emergency departments in Sligo and Letterkenny University Hospitals in May, without finishing their treatment.
In May of this year 231 Patients left the emergency department in Sligo without being treated and 173 departed Letterkenny without treatment.
The number nationwide for the month of May was 9,727 which means one in every 13 patients who presented at an ED during the month decided not wait and receive treatment.
That’s 7.7 per cent of all presentations at Emergency Departments across the Country.
There’s a big variation in the figures from across the country – the highest was nearly 18 per cent in Tallaght University Hospital in Dublin.
Eight hospitals had rates of less than 5 per cent. Included among those were Sligo and Letterkenny University Hospitals where the figures were 5.8 per cent and 4.10 per cent respectively.
At Galway University Hospital which is also included in the Saolta Hospital Group the figure was recorded at 345 or 4.9 per cent.
Sinn Féin’s health spokesman, David Cullinane, says the problem is partly down to overcrowding.
The HSE says Emergency Departments are for people with serious injuries or illnesses, but many others go there when they do not need to.
It says patients are treated by priority and, because of that, some patients with less serious needs may choose to get healthcare elsewhere.
