The Emergency Department at University Hospital Galway (UHG ) was extremely busy on Tuesday with the hospital advising that patients who attended ED for routine and non-urgent treatment would experience very long waiting times.
The high number of people attending who needed to be admitted for ongoing treatment means that there wa pressure on bed availability.
This resulted in significant delays being experienced by patients in the Emergency Department who were waiting for a bed to become available on a ward. There were 28 patients on trolleys in ED awaiting admission to in-patient beds and over 100 patients within the department on Tueday afternoon.
“All available beds are in use. 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 said in a statement and they acknowledged that these delays were very difficult for patients and their families. They also apologised for the inconvenience and distress these delays causes.
“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 only attend the Emergency Department at the hospital if it is an emergency situation. We ask that people attend their GP or out of hours service in the first instance if at all possible.
“The Roscommon Injury Unit is also open from 8am to 8pm to treat a range of injuries in both adults and children over five years of age. Keeping up to date with your vaccines is the most important thing you can do to avoid serious COVID-19 illness,” the statement concluded.
