
Nationally, the figure was over 100,000
New figures reveal that over 105,000 patients left hospital emergency departments before receiving complete care last year, with 3,689 patients leaving Naas General Hospital early.
The figures were provided to Social Democrats TD Cian O'Callaghan.
The highest number of early exits occurred at Tallaght University Hospital in Dublin, where 9,234 patients left, many before even being seen by a doctor.
The second highest was at Our Lady of Lourdes in Drogheda, Co Louth, with 8,995 patients departing before either being seen or fully discharged.
At University Hospital Limerick, which is considered the most overcrowded in the country, 6,062 patients left early, a slight decrease from 6,144 in 2023.
While delays and trolley waits improved, a total of 105,661 patients left emergency departments last year after arriving.
According to the Irish Independent, this is an increase from 104,889 in 2023 but a decrease from the peak of 115,797 in 2022, which followed a surge in hospital attendances after pandemic lockdowns.
Other hospitals with notable numbers of patients who left early include St James’s Hospital, Dublin (7,054), St Vincent’s Hospital, Dublin (5,308) and the three children’s hospitals (4,933).