UHK patients facing 8 hour emergency department waits

Patients in University Hospital Kerry can expect a wait time of 8 hours before they are admitted to a bed or sent home from the emergency department.

That's according to the most recent HSE figures, published in today's Irish independent.

Nationwide, the average wait time is seven hours.

Patients attending the emergency department in Tall­aght University Hospital experience the longest wait, at 12 and a half hours.

Patients in St Luke’s ­Hospital, Kilkenny have the shortest wait, at 3.7 hours