Sligo University Hospital says its emergency department is extremely busy today, with long delays
The hospital is also dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks in a number of wards — visiting to these wards is on compassionate grounds, on an exceptional basis only.
Sligo University Hospital says people presenting to the Emergency Department are currently experiencing long waiting times on trolleys before being admitted to a bed on a ward.
The high number of people attending who need to be admitted for ongoing treatment means that there is pressure on bed availability.
This is resulting in significant delays being experienced by patients in the Emergency Department who are waiting for a bed to become available on a ward.
As of 2pm today there are 54 patients waiting on trolleys.
Meanwhile, at 8pm last night there were 53 patients with COVID-19 being treated in the hospital.
The hospital says it 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.
Those who do not require urgent care may be waiting longer.
The hospital says people who are not an emergency should contact their GP during normal surgery hours or GP out of hours service, in the first instance.
