The Emergency Department (ED) at Letterkenny University Hospital (LUH) is extremely busy with high numbers of people attending the department who need to be admitted to hospital for ongoing treatment.
Today, there have been 59 presentations to the ED and yesterday saw 197 people attend throughout the day.
The hospital is advising that patients who attend ED for routine and non-urgent treatment will experience very long waiting times.
The hospital acknowledges that these delays are very difficult for patients and their families and apologises for the inconvenience and distress these delays cause.
“All available beds in the hospital are in use. Patients are facing long waiting times to be admitted from the ED to a bed on a ward.
“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.
“As always, people who do require emergency care are encouraged to attend EDs where they will be prioritised.
“We ask that people attend their GP or out of hours service in the first instance. As always, people who require emergency care are encouraged to attend EDs where they will be seen in order of priority.
“Unfortunately, due to bed pressures in the hospital, all elective procedures have been cancelled for today. Patients are being contacted directly if their procedure is being postponed.”
The hospital said it is committed to treating everyone who presents at the ED.
“Both the hospital management team and the clinical management team are doing everything to keep the site safe for our patients.
“A new service is available in community pharmacies which enables a pharmacist to supply prescription-only medication for a number of common illnesses, without having to see a GP. In addition to expert advice and providing over the counter treatments, community pharmacists can now prescribe medicine for eight common conditions.
“This is called the Common Conditions Service (CCS). Common conditions your pharmacist can treat under this service are; allergic rhinitis, cold sores, conjunctivitis, impetigo, oral thrush, shingles, cystitis (uncomplicated urinary tract infection), vaginal thrush.”
Information about the scheme is available on the HSE website here.