Wexford General Hospital
Patients presenting at Wexford General Hospital’s Emergency Department (ED) have reportedly been left to wait for periods of up to 16 hours as hospital staff struggle to cope with a spike in presentations there.
Hospital management have issued a statement warning that the hospital is “extremely busy, with high numbers of people attending the emergency department, some of whom will need to be admitted to hospital for ongoing treatment”.
However, the hospital is reportedly at full capacity as staff struggle to manage patient flow and create space for further admissions; management stating that “all beds in the hospital are in use”.
The hospital is currently advising that patients attending the ED for routine and non-urgent treatment “will experience longer waiting times” and the public is being urged to use alternative healthcare services for treatment, such as GPs, GP out of hours or pharmacists.
However, they stressed that if patients are very sick and in an emergency situation, they should still present at the ED.
Warnings like this have become a reasonably regular occurrence at Wexford General Hospital at peak times. When issued with the request to explore alternative treatment paths, members of the public consistently express frustration at how difficult it is to secure a GP appointment in Wexford.
This latest busy spell at the hospital has once again brought further frustrations to light, with members of the public describing “overwhelmed nurses”, 16 hour waits, elderly people with large open wounds left to wait hours and hours on end before being stitched up and sent home.
“The HSE acknowledges that these delays are difficult for patients and apologises for the inconvenience delays may cause and that patients may have to wait for care during these very busy periods,” a statement from hospital management read.
“The ED is always available to treat seriously ill patients, and the sickest patients are seen first.”
The HSE has also advised that community pharmacists can provide expert advice and over-the-counter treatments for a wide range of minor illnesses and that a new service is also available which allows pharmacists to supply prescription-only medication without the patient needing to see a GP.
The situation at Wexford General came about as ambulance workers took to the picket line on Tuesday for the first in a series of scheduled industrial actions relating to increased pay for increased responsibility.