Patients attending the Emergency Department in Letterkenny University Hospital for non-urgent treatment will experience long wait times again today, Sunday.
For the third day since Thursday, the hospital has issued a statement advising the public of long delays at ED.
A spokesperson for Letterkenny University Hospital said the hospital has seen consistently high attendances to the ED all week which has led to significant bed capacity challenges.
“As always, people who do require emergency care are encouraged to attend EDs where they will be prioritised, but the hospital is asking the public to consider all available healthcare options before attending,” the spokesperson said.
“Everyone who presents will be treated, with priority given to those who are seriously ill or injured.
“We continue to request that people only attend the Emergency Department at the hospital if it is an emergency situation. For non-urgent conditions please attend your GP in the first instance and please consider all care options.
“We apologise to our patients and their families for the inconvenience and distress caused by these delays, we are doing everything we can to improve patient flow and reduce the length of time people are waiting to be admitted to a bed.
“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.”