Mater hospital urges public to avoid emergency department due to ‘extreme pressure’

The Mater hospital has appealed to the public to avoid its emergency department (ED) if possible as services are under “extreme pressure”.

The health service has been under considerable stress in recent months, with attendances for emergency treatment reaching record highs and trolley numbers beginning to creep back up to pre-pandemic levels.

In a statement on Thursday the Mater said hospital services were “under extreme pressure due to high numbers of presentations at the ED”.

“Patients who are presenting at our ED with non-urgent conditions are unfortunately experiencing lengthy waiting times to be seen,” the statement said. “Where possible the Mater advises patients with non-emergency conditions to seek assistance from other parts of the health service such as minor injury units or their GP.”

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The statement added: “However, any patient who is in need of emergency hospital care will, of course, be seen, and the Mater would urge such patients not to delay and to seek such care.”

The hospital apologised for any inconvenience caused, and thanked the public for their understanding and co-operation.

The situation comes following figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) which detailed that a total of 481 patients were waiting on trolleys on Thursday morning. Of those 395 were waiting in hospital EDs across the State, with the remaining being in wards.

University Hospital Limerick (UHL) had the highest number of patients on trolleys at 46, followed by University Hospital Galway at 45, and the Mater hospital at 42.

This is the second time this week that an acute hospital has warned the public of pressure it was experiencing. On Wednesday Cork University Hospital warned of lengthy delays for patients due to a surge in presentations. A spokesman said the ED had been “exceptionally busy” for a number of days as a result of “a large number of very ill medical patients requiring admission”.

Last week,UHL cancelled a number of scheduled appointments due to a spike in ED attendances.

The INMO has called for an all-of-government approach to tackle hospital overcrowding.