102 patients failed to attend outpatient appointment at LUH

A board at Letterkenny University Hospital showing that 102 patients failed to show up for their outpatient appointment at the hospital.

by Louise Doyle

MORE than 100 patients did not attend their outpatient appointment at Letterkenny University Hospital in the week beginning April 8.

A photograph taken of a board in the Outpatients Department shows 102 patients did not turn up for their appointment.

Failing to cancel an outpatient appointment means that another patient who has been waiting for an appointment will continue to wait.

The image, shared on social media, was met with fury and and anger.

“That’s insane and unfair,” wrote one person, while another wrote: “Infuriating, and so many patients are waiting for appointments.”

Meanwhile, on Tuesday management of LUH said pressures at the hospital saw some non urgent or non time critical elective procedures deferred.

The hospital faced extreme pressure as 111 people attended the ED.

A statement from Saolta on Tuesday read: “The Emergency Department (ED) at Letterkenny University Hospital (LUH) has been extremely busy over the past few days with high numbers of people attending.

“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 were in use at the hospital.

“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.”

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