Covid spike blamed for ED delays

A “significant increase” in Covid positive patients presenting at Cavan General has led to “prolonged” wait times at the local hospital.

It follows inspections by Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) representatives at the acute hospital facility last week.

The announced two-day inspection marked a resumption of such checks by the health watchdog following the pandemic - the results of which will be published in due course.

Covid surge

There has been a surge in the number of Covid patients presenting with symptoms and seeking medical care at Cavan General in recent weeks.

On June 10, seven inpatients were Covid positive, compared to 33 last Monday, July 11 - more than four times higher. Numbers peaked at 36 confirmed cases at the weekend with one patient being treated in the hospital’s Intensive Care or High Dependency unit. On Monday of this week patients attending Cavan General were warned to expect long delays at the hospital’s Emergency Department.

A number of similar messages have been sent to GPs, the media and members of the public in recent weeks as the hospital was experiencing “significantly high levels of activity”.

The latest notice blamed Covid-19 and “a significant increase in the number of Covid positive patients presenting to and admitted to the hospital”.

Management added that this had resulted “in an increase in overall admissions”.

“All patients should be advised of significant delays and limited bed capacity at present,” said the bulletin, which urged doctors to explore “alternatives” for patients and ED referrals should “be explored as a priority”.

According to the Covid Tracker app, there have been 343 new Covid cases reported in Cavan over the past fortnight, 243 in Monaghan, 169 in Leitrim, 244 in Longford, and 1,114 in Meath.