The Saolta Hospital group has confirmed that there is ongoing pressure when it comes to the availability of beds at Letterkenny University Hospital.
The Donegal hospital was the second most overcrowded hospital in the country yesterday with 52 people awaiting admission at one stage in the morning.
In a statement, management at the hospital confirmed that the Emergency Department was extremely busy with a high number of people attending.
The statement went on to add that management regrets that many patients are currently experiencing long waiting times to be admitted from the Emergency Department to an acute bed in the hospital.
Staff are committed to treating everyone who presents at the ED but they do so strictly in order of medical priority and apologise for the long wait times.
The hospital are requesting the public to contact their GP during normal surgery hours or the NoWDOC GP Out of Hours service in the first instance for all not urgent conditions.
Patients are being requested to wait in the Emergency Department alone to help maintain social distancing and comply with covid-19 restrictions. A companion will only be permitted in exceptional circumstances.
The hospital is also reminding patients to please wear a face-covering/mask when in the Emergency Department and to comply with any COVID-19 screening processes.
