There have been large numbers of people waiting for beds following admission to Mayo University Hospital this week, MUH has advised.
On Thursday morning, there were 26 people waiting for beds, according to figures from the INMO Trolley Watch, with 17 of these in the emergency department and nine others in wards or elsewhere. On Wednesday and Tuesday of this week there were 22 people each day and on Monday there were 16 people, all waiting for beds.
The Saolta University Health Care Group which runs the hospital, issued statements on the issue on both Wednesday and Thursday of this week.
In their latest statement Saolta stated: "Mayo University Hospital continues to be extremely busy today (September 3 ) and this is having an impact on the length of time patients are waiting in the Emergency Department. We again apologise for the inconvenience and distress delays may cause our patients.
"Across the hospital, efforts continue to be made to identify patients who are appropriate for discharge and we are getting support from the community to support the more complex discharges and the hospital is also using beds in an acute ward in the Sacred Heart Hospital to accommodate some patients.
"We would like to remind the public that we encourage them to attend the Emergency Department only in the case of real emergencies and they should contact their GP or GP Out-of-Hours service in the first instance. However, if patients are seriously injured or ill the ED will assess and treat them as a priority.
"The Injury Unit in Roscommon University Hospital is open from 8am to 8pm seven days a week and is available to treat a wide range of injuries in adults and children over five years and is an alternative to visiting a busy Emergency Department."
