Pictures inside the hospital this evening
THE HSE has finally issued a statement on the flood crisis at Letterkenny General Hospital.
The organisation said that an emergency situation has been declared after flooding at the Emergency Department, Radiology Department, Outpatients Department, Pathology and Medical Records Departments, several wards and kitchens.
The Emergency Department has been temporarily relocated to the day surgery area which is not used after 6.00 or over the weekend.
It said 11 patients from the ED have been moved to the Day Surgery area and the emergency service continues to function.
The statement went on: “There is no risk to patients currently in the hospital. Patients who require emergency treatment can continue to access a service but the hospital is requesting that patients contact their GP out of hours service if it is not an emergency.
“The Crisis Management Team has been activated to ensure that resources and facilities are made available to the local management team to address the current flooding.
“The flooding occurred following torrential rainfall in parts of Donegal earlier this evening, causing a stream at the back of the hospital to become congested and flow over onto the hospital grounds and into the hospital. The local authority fire services are on site to assist and to pump the water from the department.”
Sean Murphy, General Manager, LGH, said in the HSE press release: “We are doing everything we can to minimize the impact on patients and will work continuously throughout the night to ensure that the area is cleared of water as soon as possible. We are able to use the day surgery and outpatient facilities as these areas are not used over the weekend. I want to acknowledge hospital staff, the fire service, the council, the army and the gardaí for working with us to try and manage this very difficult situation.”
