Apology for assessments in ambulances
LETTERKENNY University Hospital (LUH) has apologised after patients were left waiting i n ambulances outside the hospital on Sunday night.
A record 1,499 Covid-19 patients were being treated in hospitals across the country that night – with 79 confirmed cases in the Co. Donegal hospital alone. Of these, four were in the intensive care unit, where, due to high demand, no beds were available.
In a statement, the hospital pointed out that it had been an ‘extremely busy weekend’ and that there had been ‘a large number of patients presenting with suspect or confirmed Covid-19, many of whom required admission’.
It added: ‘The hospital would like to apologise to patients for the distress that these delays cause and would like to acknowledge the huge effort of its staff.’
The statement said that due to the high number of patients, the hospital had few beds available, resulting ‘in delays in admission specifically for patients going to the dedicated Covid-19 zone’.
‘As part of the hospital’s response to this serious situation, clinical teams assessed patients who were delayed being admitted from the ambulance,’ it said. ‘This was to ensure that patients were treated in clinical priority.’
As of Sunday night, Cork University Hospital had the highest number of confirmed Covid patients with 135. This was followed by University Hospital Limerick with 122 and Beaumont
Hospital in Dublin with 104.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) said that on Sunday, it received large volumes of calls from LUH, expressing concern about the number of ambulances queuing up outside the emergency department.
Neal Donohue, the INMO’s industrial relations officer for the North West, told RTÉ Radio: ‘The whole hospital is under immense pressure, but the emergency department is where it’s compounded.
‘We had seven ambulances waiting outside the hospital. These people are waiting to get access to care because of capacity issues because of staffing issues.
‘The concern was, in relation to patrons waiting there in the ambulances, that there could potentially be delayed care, missed care, potential adverse outcomes, and our members are very concerned about the safety.’
Mr Donohue added that the Letterkenny hospital had been under ‘ extreme pressure’ for several weeks before Christmas and that there hadn’t been ‘any let-up’.
‘There could be delayed care’