Car driven into the ER in University Hospital Waterford

Gardaí are investigating an incident at University Hospital Waterford on Wednesday when a car was driven into the entrance door at the emergency department.

No-one was injured when the accident occurred but some damage was done to the doors at the busy hospital.

The incident could have been much worse as more than 20 people were in the waiting room of the emergency section at the time and would have been in the vehicle’s path had it got past the doors.

It's understood that a 35-year-old man who was looking for medication was refused entry to the hospital before 11.45pm. A short time later, a black Opel Zafira drove towards the entrance and straight into the door.

Its driver then got out of the car and proceeded to look for medication in the hospital. He was subsequently admitted as a patient. The man is originally from eastern Europe but is living in Co Waterford.

Gardaí were called to the scene but no arrests were made. It’s understood they are waiting until the man is discharged from hospital care before proceeding with their investigation.

The incident was described as “an extraordinary occurrence” by a HSE employee.

A staff member at the hospital said they were “lucky” the incident wasn’t worse as the car could have caused injuries “if he drove straight into the waiting room which was busy at the time”.

In a statement, the HSE confirmed that a car collided “with part of the emergency department building” at UHW at 11.45pm.

"There were no serious injuries but some damage to the doorway area occurred. The car was removed and the ED continued to operate as normal," the statement said. "An Garda Síochána were contacted immediately and are investigating the incident."