An internal investigation is being held into how Letterkenny General Hospital was left without power supplies for 20 minutes on Monday due to a "systems failure".
The matter was further compounded when the emergency back-up generator failed to start, leaving vital units of the hospital, including the intensive care and operating theatres, without power between 9.10 a.m. and 9.30 a.m.
The hospital's general manager, Mr Chris Lyons, said yesterday that "appropriate measures" had been put into place by all staff following the power failure.
"A lot of machinery in the intensive care unit and coronary care unit have emergency battery back-up systems which came into play, while staff responded by implementing other manual arrangements, where necessary, to ensure patient safety," Mr Lyons said. Confirming that no "adverse incidents" had been reported in the wake of Monday's black-out, Mr Lyons said all staff worked very well in difficult circumstances.
He said major upgrading of electrical works, which are ongoing on the hospital campus, may have resulted in the loss of power. The €300,000 project is being supervised by the hospital's internal engineering staff.
"There has been a lot of testing and changeover done over recent weekends to a new high tension electricity system. These tests are done in a controlled environment and are usually carried out at times when the hospital is at its quietest with no out-patient clinics," he said
Mr Lyons said none of the lives of the 306 patients had been seriously threatened by the systems failure.