Denis Naughten spends night in ‘full capacity’ emergency department

The east Galway hospital where Minister for Communications Denis Naughten was taken for treatment on Monday had issued a warning to the public that it was at full capacity just hours before he was admitted.

In a sign of further strain on emergency departments across the State, management at Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe said it had reached full capacity for the second time over the Christmas period and people seeking treatment could "expect delays".

Mr Naughten was struck by a car while cycling with his wife near his home in Co Roscommon, and was taken to the hospital by ambulance.

Mr Naughten was admitted to the hospital on Monday night and was being kept in overnight for observation.

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Patients have been on trolleys in the emergency department, which prompted management to implement a full capacity protocol on Monday morning for the second time in four days. The previous one was implemented last Friday.

Staffing issue

A spokesman for Saolta University Health Care Group acknowledged that staffing was an issue and said the hospital was recruiting personnel as part of the national campaign by the Health Service Executive (HSE). However, the spokesman said that there had been increased activity, particularly of "high-dependency" cases, over the weekend at Portiuncula.

The management’s statement apologised for the delays and appealed to members of the public to attend the emergency department “only in the case of real emergencies”. They have been urged to contact their doctor or GP out-of-hours service instead.

Roscommon Hospital’s minor injuries unit is also open for daytime cases.

Mr Naughten has been an advocate of retaining the full 24-hour emergency department at Portiuncula in spite of efforts to downgrade it.

In a report by the Trauma Steering Group, which was leaked last July, Portiuncula was named as one of nine hospitals where emergency services should be reduced. The nine hospitals would no longer treat patients who had been in traffic incidents or had had serious falls, head injuries, broken limbs or major wounds, as these would be referred to centres of excellence.