Letterkenny Hospital Flood and Services Update

The Letterkenny Hospital Manager briefed members of the media at a press conference today (Friday 09 August).  The conference gave an overview of the services that are currently being delivered in Letterkenny and an update on the restoration of services.  The Modular Units to build a link corridor to the temporary radiology services are arriving on site today.  This vital piece of engineering and construction work will take place over the coming days and is a critical stage in the restoration of services.
 
Services operating normally
Maternity, Dialysis and Chemotherapy services have not been affected by flood damage. The hospital is providing limited Paediatric services for GP referred patients who do not need access to radiology services. The Laboratory service is operating with some limitations. Patients whose appointments are being rescheduled are being contacted directly to advise them of individual arrangements. A GP referred Orthopaedic Minor Injuries Unit is up and running for patients who are referred to the hospital by a GP. Please note this is not a walk-in service and patients have to be referred following a GP consultation.
 
Inpatients
We have discharged patients who were well enough to go home, go to a Community Hospital or nursing home. Patient safety and welfare is our paramount concern and all patients currently in the hospital are being cared for in a safe manner.
 
Emergency Department
As a top priority we are working to re-establish diagnostic radiological capability using mobile equipment to enable us to set up a temporary Emergency Department at the hospital. A range of recovery projects are underway including the decontamination and sterilisation of equipment to restore full functionality and a project to restock the affected areas of the hospital with critical supplies. In the interim, emergency admissions continue to be diverted to Altnagelvin Hospital, South West Acute (Enniskillen) and Sligo Regional Hospitals. Our clinical team liaise with these hospitals regularly and we are extremely appreciative of their support.
 
Outpatient Services
Almost two thirds of the Outpatient clinics continue to be provided onsite or in community facilities. Patients are individually contacted to advise them of any changes to location and time of their appointment.
 

• Maternity services are unaffected by the flood damage;
• Chemotherapy services continue in the hospital;
• Dialysis patients continue to receive a full dialysis service in the hospital;
• Orthopaedic fracture clinics have been relocated to Donegal Community Hospital, Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm;
• Endoscopy services are in place since 31 July;
• Some outpatient clinics are being relocated to the NoWDOC Centre in Oldtown, Letterkenny or to the Breastcare clinic in Letterkenny Hospital Nurses Home;
• The hospital is providing limited paediatric (children) services for GP referred patients who do not require radiology services;
• The Laboratory service is operating and
• Antenatal Classes have relocated to Letterkenny Women’s Centre, Port Road (opposite An Grianan Theatre), Letterkenny. Next class will be on 12 August.

 
Surgical Services
Minor local anaesthetics will be carried out at the Scally Practice, Letterkenny from Monday 12 August.  We are appointing suitable patients in order of clinical priority and all patients for surgery will be contacted directly by the hospital either by telephone or by letter.  Day Case medical patients are being accommodated in the Day Services Unit in the hospital.  Full endoscopy service for both inpatients and outpatients is up and running. Some surgery has been relocated to Galway University Hospitals and is being undertaken by Letterkenny Hospital clinical staff.
 
Staff
Staff are working around the clock to care for patients and to restore services as soon as possible. Approximately 30 staff from Letterkenny are assisting at Altnagelvin and Sligo Hospitals.
 
Ambulance Service
The National Ambulance Services (NAS) has provided an additional seven ambulances from the onset of the flooding at LGH. These resources have primarily been put on at night shifts to build in a level of resilience and capacity to deal with the non availability of the emergency department and other services at LGH. We continue to monitor the situation with LGH to access service needs. The NAS in discussions with LGH management have reconfigured service needs to maintain a frontline emergency service.
 
Visiting
Visiting has been restored; a clean zone has been established between the wings of the hospital and visiting is back to normal visiting hours 2.30 pm to 4.00 pm and 6.30 pm to 8.00 pm daily. Please follow all hand hygiene procedures and comply with any instructions from staff to ensure the clean zone remains uncontaminated.
 
Information links
Patients can get the latest information on www.hse.ie/letterkenny or from Letterkenny General Information line - (074) 9109160.  Radio and press adverts will also keep people updated.