Significant wait times at the Emergency Department in Letterkenny University Hospital

The Emergency Department at Letterkenny University Hospital has been extremely busy over the past few days with unusually high numbers patients presenting for treatment. Over the weekend 224 people attended the Emergency Department.

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 long delays being experienced by patients in the Emergency Department who are waiting for a bed to become available on a ward. There are currently 14 patients on trolleys in the ED waiting for a bed and eight in-patients in Day Services.

In addition the hospital is seeing a significant increase in COVID-19 cases, as of 8am this morning there were 18 patients with COVID-19 being treated in the hospital.

The ongoing pressure on bed availability has also resulted in some elective procedures being postponed and 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 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. If your health problem is not an emergency you should contact your GP during normal surgery hours or the NoWDOC GP out of hours service, in the first instance.

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