A verdict of death due to natural causes has been recorded after an inquest into the death of a patient at Tallaght Hospital Emergency Department.
Coroner Dr Kieran Geraghty said there was no evidence that any treatment would have prevented the death of Thomas Brennan on 22 July from a condition which led to a heart attack.
However the Coroner said he was concerned over evidence that some of the doctors had to work 36 hours without sleep.
He also recommended that in the handover of patients to different medical teams doctors and other clinical staff read the patient's records.
Today's inquest heard how Mr Brennan had been admitted to Tallaght Hospital emergency department at 12.27pm, as doctors were concerned about abdominal pain.
Dr David Menzies, a specialist registrar, told the court that on the basis of medical checks he did not think that Mr Brennan was having a heart attack.
Dr Menzies said his shift ended after 8pm and he referred Mr Brennan to the medical team for admission to a bed and was confident this would happen.
However Mr Brennan was not seen to again until after 1am the following morning, by which point he had passed away.
Speaking at the inquest acting chief executive John O'Connell said Mr Brennan was provided with excellent care and was not neglected.
Dr Peter McAuley, a medical senior house officer told the inquest that the medical team had 10 other patients to review for possible admission to a bed on the night of 21 July.
He said just after midnight the team were busy doing a lumbar puncture when asked by a clinical nurse manager if they could review Mr Brennan.
Dr McAuley also said he had been assured Mr Brennan was stable.
He agreed with the Dublin County Coroner Dr Kieran Geraghty that a five-hour wait to be reviewed would be a little longer than normal, but it was a busy night.
A consultant in emergency medecine at Tallaght Hospital also told the inquest that there was no electronic record that Mr Brennan had been admitted to the hospital.
Dr Jean O' Sullivan said that on occasions 21 patients are on a so-called 'virtual ward'
These are patients on 'an electronic list' who are on corridors and elsewhere around the hospital waiting for a bed.
His son, Joseph Brennan, told the Dublin County Coroners Court today that his father kept fit and walked every day.
He said the family felt he was getting good care after his admission to the emergency department and so they felt they were able to go home later that evening.
