Management at The Emergency Department at University Hospital Galway are advising of long delays.
A significant number of patients are awaiting admission to the hospital with staff reporting it to be “extremely busy”.
In a statement released to The Clare Herald, a representative for management said “We apologise to patients and their families for these delays. The Full Capacity Protocol has been implemented and all efforts continue to be made to identify patients who are appropriate for discharge. It has also been necessary to defer non-urgent elective procedures.
“We would like to remind the public that we encourage them to attend the Emergency Department only in the case of real emergencies and they should contact their GP or GP Out-of-Hours service in the first instance. University Hospital Galway again apologises to all patients and their families for any distress caused as a result of these delays”.
People who will be attending the Emergency Department are reminded by management to anticipate considerable delays.