The increase in ED presentations broght about by the rise in covid-19 cases earlier this week prompted hospital chiefs to issue a public appeal for people to consider all care options.

HSE South West has announced that the emergency department at CUH is currently experiencing very high levels of activity.

Average waiting times for people needing admission to hospital from emergency departments have increased to 11.7 hours in Irish hospitals, according to new figures from the Health Service Executive.

The number of emergency department consultants in Ireland is two per 100,000 population, compared to 4.1 per 100,000 in England.

Of the 100 patients who come into the emergency department, only about 20 to 22 of those need to be admitted to the acute system,” he said. “We just don’t have the bed capacity to admit all ...