ALTNAGELVIN Hospital in
Derry has received more than 108 extra patients from
Co Donegal since Letterkenny General Hospital was
evacuated due to severe flooding three days ago.
Management at the hospital today said it was happy
to return the favour after Letterkenny Hospital
helped it out following a fire at Altnagelvin last
year.
It said that Altnagelvin is "busy but coping well"
with the extra patients from across the border.
Western Trust Director of Acute Services, Geraldine
McKay, said: “We were sorry to hear of the serious
situation which occurred at Letterkenny Hospital on
Friday evening.
"Letterkenny Hospital was quick to offer its support
when Altnagelvin had its fire incident in November
2012 and we were pleased to offer our support in
return following their flooding incident.”
The Western Trust at Altnagelvin has been admitting
extra patients from the Letterkenny and east Donegal
catchment area.
"Our Emergency Department has experienced an
increase in activity since Friday. To date we have
received an additional 80 blue light ambulance
patients, GP admissions and have had 28 extra
admissions as a result of the incident," added Ms
McKay.
“Altnagelvin Hospital remains busy but is coping
well with the increase in demand and I thank the
staff for all their work. The Western Trust will
continue to work with our colleagues from
Letterkenny to assess how long the situation will
continue and to put plans in place to ensure all
patients can be safely treated.” Meanwhile, Sligo
General Hospital continues to receive patients from
south Donegal.
HSE latest update:
- Hospital remains closed to all visiting.
- Emergency admissions where necessary continue to
be diverted to Sligo and Altnagelvin Hospitals.
Ambulance support is in place to support this.
- Today's surgical and medical Outpatient clinics
relocated to the NowDoc Centre in Oldtown,
Letterkenny.
- Paediatric and gynae out-patient clinics going
ahead as normal in Letterkenny Hospital.
- A separate Radiology helpline has been opened on
074 91 23571.
- Patients scheduled to attend the Radiology
Department will be rescheduled. This includes
patients due for x-ray, CT, MRI, Ultrasound, and
Dexa scans.
- Management ask that patients wait for the hospital
to contact them unless they have an urgent query. |
