Wexford General Hospital has said it will only admit visitors in “exceptional circumstances” as it deals with a Norovirus outbreak.
With several wards affected, the hospital has implemented increased infection control measures and suspended visiting with immediate effect.
The highly-contagious viral infection is also referred to as the winter vomiting bug. It is among the most common stomach bugs in Ireland, according to the Health Service Executive.
In a statement on Monday, Wexford hospital management outlined that visiting “will only be allowed in exceptional circumstances on compassionate grounds”.
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Nominated partners will be granted access to the maternity unit, while parents can accompany sick children on Gabriel’s Ward.
Children should not be brought as visitors, said the hospital.
Meanwhile, on Monday morning one of the State’s busiest hospitals asked patients to consider alternatives to attending at its Emergency Department as it dealt with the fallout from information technology problems.
From about 4am, St James’s Hospital in Dublin experienced what management called a “serious performance issue” with its patient administration system.
A hospital spokesperson said the IT glitch is “severely impacting the processing of patients through our emergency department, leading to significant delays”.
The patients administration system is in the process of being replaced which will take 18 months before all work will be completed.
“The problem is being dealt with as a high priority by the hospital,” added the spokesperson. Work on the project began several months ago.
It is understood that the IT system crashed and was then restored on several occasions throughout the morning until 12.30pm. It will take several hours before any resulting backlog will be resolved.
[ Beaumont Hospital warns of risk to services from ageing computer systemOpens in new window ]
Hospital management is asking the public to consider all available care options including injury clinics, GPs or local pharmacies before attending the hospital’s ED.
Last December, another IT issue arose that affected some services including outpatient clinics and the ED.
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