Emergency Department in Sligo University Hospital is extremely busy with long delays

Sligo University Hospital is advising that people presenting to the Emergency Department are currently experiencing long waiting times on trolleys before being admitted to a bed on a ward.

The high number of people attending who need to be admitted for ongoing treatment means that there is pressure on bed availability. This is resulting in significant delays being experienced by patients in the Emergency Department who are waiting for a bed to become available on a ward. There are currently 32 patients on trolleys in ED awaiting admission to in-patient beds.

In addition the hospital continues to be impacted by COVID-19. There are currently 16 COVID-19 positive patients being treated at SUH with three wards impacted by COVID-19 and flu outbreaks. This is limiting the availability of beds for patients coming in through ED.

All available beds are in use. Every effort is being made to discharge patients who are ready to go home so that beds will become available for patients who need to be admitted, at the earliest opportunity.

The hospital is committed to treating everyone who presents at the Emergency Department; people who are seriously injured or ill are assessed and treated as a priority and those who do not require urgent care may be waiting longer. If your health problem is not an emergency you should contact your GP during normal surgery hours or the CareDoc GP out of hours service, in the first instance. In addition, the Injury Unit in Roscommon University Hospital is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day to treat a range of injuries in both adults and children over five years of age.