The interim emergency department at Letterkenny General Hospital may open today for general admissions after a successful weekend testing its capacity.
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General Manager, Sean Murphy, has indicated that ambulance admissions ran smoothly over the weekend.
It is now likely the unit will begin accepting walk-in patients from north Donegal as early as this morning.
The emergency unit, which contains prefabricated and existing buildings at the old wing of the hospital, opened on Saturday.
However, only a small number of ambulance only admissions arrived at the hospital which was hit by devastating floods three weeks ago.
Up to 70% of the footprint of the hospital was covered in water following a spell of torrential rain.
Patients will continue to be taken to Sligo General Hospital from south Donegal until at least mid-week.
Diversions to Letterkenny will be increased throughout next week and the following week until all Donegal patients are cared for in Letterkenny.
A spokesman for HSE West told Donegal Daily they are hoping to increase general admissions by as early as today.
“The system has been tested over the weekend with a limited number of ambulance admissions.
“It is possible that the emergency department will be opened to general admissions as early as Monday but a decision has yet to be made on that.
“The fact that we are even talking about having such a unit open just three weeks after the flood is a testament to the staff and their hard work,” said the spokesman.
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