Saolta have said the Emergency Department (ED) is seeing record levels of attendances recently and this is putting pressure on the hospital.

In particular there is pressure on bed availability in the hospital and many patients are currently experiencing long waiting times to be admitted from the ED to an acute bed in the hospital.

Given the volume of patients attending the Emergency Department, the hospital is asking the public to only present at the ED if they are in need of emergency medical treatment.

The hospital is asking people to contact their GP during normal surgery hours or the NoWDOC GP Out of Hours service in the first instance if their health problem is not urgent.

A spokesperson for Saolta University Health Care Group said, “The hospital is committed to treating everyone who presents at the ED; people are seen and treated strictly in order of medical priority.

“The hospital would like to apologise for the long wait times.

“As part of the hospital’s Covid-19 measures, patients should wait in the ED alone to help maintain social distancing. A companion will only be permitted in exceptional circumstances. This is to minimise the risk of infection and to keep everyone safe.

“Patients are asked to please wear a face covering/mask when in the ED and to comply with any COVID-19 screening processes.”