Eleven consultants at Letterkenny University Hospital have written to the Health Minister about the crisis in the facility.
This been welcome by General Practitioners in Donegal, 78 of whom signed a letter to the minister last week expressing similar concerns.
In the letter, consultants express serious concerns over the operation of the Emergency Department and its impact on patient outcomes.
The consultants add that the condition of the hospital’s services, many of which are under extreme pressure, has been repeatedly brought to the attention of local hospital management, Saolta Group, Department of Health and various Ministers over the last number of years.
In their letter, the consultants say Letterkenny University Hospital’s Emergency Department is one of the largest in Ireland with almost 150 patient presentations per day, around 50 of whom are admitted.
Although Letterkenny is a very large Model 3 hospital, it is quite isolated in terms of poor transport infrastructure, no alternative hospital service providers while the nearest Model 4 hospital 150 miles away.
Emergency Department waiting times, have deteriorated quite dramatically since 2020.
When it comes to funding per patient, Letterkenny University Hospital is 14th nationally.
The 11 consultants call for an external review team to inquire into the operations of the hospital Emergency Department.
They also want the inquiry to include a broader range of issues that affect the delivery of emergency care.
