The emergency department at Portiuncula University Hospital has reported that it is extremely busy this week, with higher than average numbers of people attending, and it is urging people not to attend for non-urgent issues.
“There is ongoing pressure on bed availability in the hospital and we regret that many patients are currently experiencing long waiting times to be admitted from the ED to an acute bed in the hospital,” the Saolta hospital group said in a statement yesterday.
“We ask people to contact their GP or the Westdoc out of hours service/Midoc out of hours service in the first instance if their health problem is not urgent.
“We would also like to remind patients that the injury unit in Roscommon University Hospital is open from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week, 365 days a year, to treat a range of injuries in both adults and children over five years of age.
“We are committed to treating everyone who presents at our ED but we do so strictly in order of medical priority and apologise for the long wait times.”
