Letterkenny University Hospital 'extremely busy' with one ward in Covid outbreak

Ten Covid-19 positive patients are being treated at Letterkenny University Hospital with one ward in outbreak.

When a ward is affected by COVID-19 visiting is limited, all visits must be pre-arranged by the family members / nominated visitor, who should contact the relevant ward or unit in advance.

The Emergency Department (ED) at the hospital has been extremely busy, with high numbers of people attending. On Monday, 209 patients attended the Emergency Department, one of the highest attendances recorded in LUH. On Wednesday, 155 people attended at the Emergency Department and the hospital is seeing a similarly high attendance today. There are currently 38 patients in the Emergency Department with 16 patients waiting to be admitted.

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“All available beds in the hospital are in use and patients are facing long waiting times to be admitted from the Emergency Department to a bed on a ward,” a spokesperson for the hospital said. “Every effort is being made to discharge patients who are ready to go home so that beds will become available for patients who need to be admitted, at the earliest opportunity. We are committed to treating everyone who presents at the ED but we do so strictly in order of medical priority. The hospital acknowledges that these delays are very difficult for patients and their families and apologises for the inconvenience and distress these delays cause.

“We continue to request that people consider other options for non-emergency care such as Out of Hours GP and pharmacies before attending an ED. Please do not visit the hospital if you have any Respiratory symptoms or have had contact with someone who has Covid-19. All visitors to the hospital will be required to practice good hand hygiene and use hand gel regularly, face masks are available for use throughout the hospital.”