By Suzanne Pender

St Luke’s General Hospital’s has this evening issued a statement indicating that its Emergency Department (ED) and Acute Medical Assessment Unit (AMAU) continue to be “extremely busy” due to high levels of patients with flu, COVID-19 and other complex illnesses requiring admission.

Hospital management also highlight that another reason for the increased pressure on the ED has been the recent fire and closure of the ED in Wexford General Hospital.

“St Luke’s has recently opened up an 18-bed ward specifically for Wexford patients who have been transferred from UHW or come directly from Wexford. The ward is staffed by Wexford Hospital staff and St Luke’s staff,” the statement indicated.

“Management and staff in St Luke’s Hospital, and the HSE regrets that patients are experiencing long wait times in our ED.  We are working as hard as we can to provide services to those patients and to support our staff”.

The HSE is appealing to people seeking medical care or assessment to consider all options before going to St Luke’s Hospital’s Emergency Department.

“While some patients will regrettably experience long wait times in our ED, urgent patients will always be prioritised for treatment and care,” they indicate.

The statement concludes with; “management and staff of St Luke’s General Hospital would like to thank the public for their patience and support at this time”.