The Mater hospital has asked that the public visit their GP before travelling to the hospital’s emergency department, which is experiencing “very high numbers and protracted wait times”.
A statement from the hospital on Monday asked that the public, where possible, attend their GP in the first instance or the rapid injury clinic in Smithfield, with minor injuries.
“Those attending the emergency department will be managed according to priority, so less-urgent cases will experience delays,” said the statement.
The number of patients stuck waiting on trolleys in hospitals across the State rose to 459 on Monday after dropping slightly to 392 before the weekend, according to the latest figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO).
Stuck on trolleys
Dublin’s Mater hospital had one of the highest figures, with 28 people stuck on trolleys after the weekend. The highest number of people on trolleys was at St Luke’s Hospital in Kilkenny, with 31 people waiting on Monday.
There were also 28 people on trolleys at the Midland Regional Hospital in Mullingar, the Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore and Portiuncula Hospital in Co Galway.
Under Health Service Executive (HSE) targets, the number of patients on trolleys in the State on a given day is not supposed to exceed 236.
Earlier this month, numbers on trolleys rose to a record 612 people, with David Hughes of the INMO warning of a “disastrous” situation.
Mr Hughes has warned that the health service is “chronically short” of nurses while the demand for health services continues to grow.
