Letterkenny University Hospital is warning that people attending the Emergency Department for non-urgent treatment today will experience long wait.
There have been consistently high attendances to the E.D. all week which has led to significant bed capacity challenges.
As always, people who do require emergency care are encouraged to go to the E.D. where they will be prioritised, but the hospital is asking the public to consider all available healthcare options before attending.
Hospital management say everyone who presents at the Emergency Department will be treated, with priority given to those who are seriously ill or injured.
They continue to request that people only attend the Emergency Department at the hospital if it is an emergency situation, and for non-urgent conditions, they should attend their GP or out of hours service in the first instance, and consider all care options.
Management say they are doing everything they can to improve patient flow and reduce the length of time people are waiting to be admitted to a bed. However, they stress every available bed in the hospital is in use, and all surge areas are activated. There are currently 54 people waiting in the ED with 142 attendances in the past 24 hours.
