Mayo General Hospital’s emergency department was extremely busy on Monday with a higher than usual number of patients presenting at the hospital.
According to the Health Service Executive (HSE ) this is due to the usual seasonal increase of patients presenting with colds, flu, respiratory problems, and the winter vomiting bug.
But local independent councillor Michael Kilcoyne is putting it down to the closure of the A&E department at Roscommon Hospital. “Roscommon is having a major impact on Mayo General and no extra resources have been given to Castlebar. It is totally unacceptable,” Cllr Kilcoyne told the Mayo Advertiser.
He has called on the Taoiseach to intervene immediately and provide extra resources to Mayo General so more beds are available at the hospital.
“It is totally unacceptable that patients are being treated on trolleys in corridors and people are being discharged when they still need to be in hospital. This situation should receive urgent attention,” he added.
The trolley watch figures released by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation on a daily basis would support the claim that the hospital is experiencing overcrowding with 17 patients being treated on trolleys on Tuesday. That is the highest number for a long period of time.
