Saolta is reporting this evening that the Emergency Department at Letterkenny University Hospital has been extremely busy over the past few days with high numbers of people attending. So far today 111 people have attended the Emergency Department.
They say the high number of people attending who need to be admitted for ongoing treatment means that there is pressure on bed availability. This is resulting in significant delays being experienced by patients in the Emergency Department who are waiting for a bed to become available on a ward.
Given these pressures at the hospital some elective procedures which are not urgent or time critical have been deferred tomorrow. Patients are being contacted directly if their procedure is being postponed.
All available beds are in use. 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.
The hospital acknowledges that these delays and postponements are very difficult for patients and their families and apologises for the inconvenience and distress these delays cause.
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 consider other options for non-emergency care such as Out of Hours GP and pharmacies before attending an ED.
