There was serious overcrowding experienced at Mayo General Hospital this week with 23 patients being treated on trolleys on Wednesday, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation trolley watch survey.
Yesterday (Thursday ) there were 18, on Tuesday there were 11 patients being treated on trolleys as they waited admission to the hospital. There were eight on Monday.
According to the HSE some elective admissions are being deferred this week due to the overcrowding at the accident and emergency department.
The executive asked people to contact the hospital to ensure their procedures are going ahead. It has also advised the public to expect delays at the A&E department this week and to only attend the emergency department in the case of real emergencies.
A public meeting which was due to take place in Belmullet last night (Thursday ) discussed the overcrowding at Mayo General while there are beds empty at Belmullet Hospital. According to Cllr Rose Conway Walsh patients from Erris could be discharged from Mayo General for sub acute care in Belmullet.
Meanwhile the HSE advised patients and clients they may experience difficulty in making contact with HSE services due to continued industrial action. The trade union Impact has confirmed that action will take place in the HSE west area from 9am to 1pm today (Friday March 12 ).
Impact has agreed to grant derogations for switchboards and for all direct line emergency services such as emergency departments. The union has also agreed to direct its members to screen calls related to critical services on an hourly basis to establish whether a direct action is required.
The HSE will continue to monitor the situation closely and will take all necessary steps to minimise the impact of industrial action on its patients and clients.
The HSE reiterated its commitment to ensuring patient safety is not compromised by any form of industrial action and stressed that patient safety must remain a priority at all times for the organisation, unions, and staff.
