LAST UPDATE | 6 Apr 2022

THE MATER HOSPITAL has appealed to the public to avoid attending their emergency department due to a combination of Covid-19-related staff absences and high volumes of people attending the ED.

According to the hospital, their services are under “extreme pressure” due to the volume of people who are attending the hospital alongside high volumes of staff absences due to Covid-19 and the transmission of the virus.

The hospital has said that patients who are currently attending their ED are facing “lengthy waiting times” before they are seen.

In a statement, the hospital advised people with non-emergency issues to go to either a minor-injury unit or their GP.

“Where possible, the Mater advises patients with non-emergency conditions to seek assistance from other parts of the health service such as minor injury units or their GP,” said a spokesperson for the Mater in a statement.

“However, any patient who is in need of emergency hospital care will of course be seen and the Mater would urge such patients not to delay and to seek such care.”

It comes as 568 patients who have been admitted to hospital are currently on trolleys across the health service today.

Today, the Department of Health has reported an additional 4,076 PCR-confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

It also reported that 4,278 positive antigen tests were reported through the HSE portal yesterday.

This leads to a total of 8,354 new cases of Covid-19 being reported in Ireland today.

As of 8am, there are 1,333 patients in hospital with a confirmed case of Covid-19, of whom 58 are receiving treatment in intensive care.