Overcrowding in Sligo University Hospital to be discussed at meeting with local representatives

By Philip Rooney, The Sligo Champion

News that HSE CEO for the West and North West, Tony Canavan, will convene a special meeting for public representatives in the wake of concerns raised at the recent Regional Health Forum, has been welcomed by local Councillor, Edel McSharry.

At the meeting, Cllr McSharry highlighted the growing crisis around delayed discharges, the lack of residential care beds, insufficient home care packages, and severe Emergency Department overcrowding in Sligo University Hospital and across the region. She asked for specific, measurable plans to deal with both the immediate summer surge and the medium-term pressures that are escalating month on month.

Mr Canavan has acknowledged the scale of the challenge across the North West/West regions in his correspondence to public representatives. It was stated that Emergency Department attendances have increased by 4% this year compared to 2024, with rises of 6% in July and 7% in August, while admission of patients over 75 have risen by 4.3% year-to-date and by 9% in August alone.

It was also stated by Mr Canavan in correspondence that over 5,000 additional bed days have been lost due to delayed transfers of care in the first seven months of 2025 compared to last year. These factors have placed unprecedented strain on acute hospitals, resulting in unacceptable overcrowding and longer waiting times for patients.

Mr Canavan confirmed that the HSE is taking a number of measures, including maximising use of private bed capacity; expanding minor injury and advanced nurse practitioner services in ED; extending diagnostic operating hours; increasing weekend discharges with senior consultants present on site; Implementing the MADE (Multi-Agency Discharge Event) initiative to speed up discharges to community services and adhering to the Hospital Escalation Framework with surge capacity as required.

Speaking in the wake of the Regional Health Forum Cllr McSharry stressed the need for intervention saying the current situation is not sustainable.

"I welcome this briefing and the recognition that urgent and medium-term interventions are needed. The numbers we are seeing - more patients attending, more elderly patients admitted, and thousands of additional bed days lost - are not sustainable. Patients and families across Sligo and the North West deserve a clear plan and clear timelines on how these issues will be addressed. I will continue to push for greater investment in residential beds and home care packages so that older people can be discharged safely and quickly, freeing up much-needed hospital capacity."

The special briefing for public representatives will take place in the coming weeks, where Mr Canavan will set out the HSE’s immediate and medium-term plans to deal with overcrowding, delayed discharges and bed shortages in the North West.