All beds in use at Letterkenny hospital with emergency department under strain

Letterkenny University Hospital is again under strain with 113 patients currently in the emergency department of the hospital.

There are 23 patients awaiting admission to the hospital and those attending for routine and non-urgent treatments are advised that they will experience “very long waiting times”.

One ward is dealing with a Norovirus outbreak with visiting restricted and only permitted in special cases - and only if agreed in advance with the ward manager.

All of the beds in the hospital are currently in use, management say, with the ED described as being “extremely busy with high numbers of people attending the department who need to be admitted to hospital for ongoing treatment”. 

On Monday, 186 people attended to the ED.

“Patients are facing long waiting times to be admitted from the Emergency Department to a bed on a ward,” a statement from the HSE said. “Every effort is being made to discharge patients who are ready to go home so that beds will become available for patients who need to be admitted, at the earliest opportunity.

“Due to the pressures on the site and the lack of bed capacity, the hospital is postponing some elective procedures. Urgent, time sensitive cases are being prioritised. Patients are being contacted directly if their procedure is being postponed.

“As always, people who do require emergency care are encouraged to attend EDs where they will be prioritised.”

Hospital bosses say that they acknowledge that the delays are “very difficult for patients and their families” and they have apologised for the “inconvenience and distress these delays cause”.

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The statement added: “The hospital is committed to treating everyone who presents at the Emergency Department; people who are seriously injured or ill are assessed and treated as a priority and those who do not require urgent care may be waiting longer.

 “We continue to request that people only attend the Emergency Department at the hospital if it is an emergency situation. We ask that people attend their GP or out of hours service in the first instance if at all possible.”