St James’s Hospital asks people to avoid emergency department

St James’s Hospital has urged people to stay away from its emergency department if possible.

In a statement, the country’s largest hospital said it was experiencing a very high number of emergency department attendances, which was resulting in longer patient waiting times.

While the emergency department remains open, the public are requested where possible to attend their GP or out of hours GP services.

According to figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation Trolley Watch figures, 30 people were on trolleys in St James’s Hospital on Tuesday while 339 were on trolleys across the country.