Visitor restrictions as hospital deals with ‘multiple outbreaks
17 patients test positive for Covid in latest HSE figures.
Visitor restrictions are in place at Cavan General Hospital which is reporting “multiple outbreaks” of both Covid and Flu among patients.
As a result, people are being urged to be treated within the community first before attending the hospital’s emergency department “continues to experience unprecedented numbers of presentations”
Su-Zann O’Callaghan, General Manager at Cavan and Monaghan Hospital urged people to “utilise their GP” if more appropriate.
The memorandum issued on Tuesday, December 22, states that the hospital and the Lisdarn unit are currently also dealing with “multiple outbreaks” of both Covid and Flu.
“Visiting is now restricted hospital wide and at the discretion of the nursing manager”.
It follows a similar statement issued prior to the weekend, Friday, December 16, when it was reported that the hospital’s ED was “exceptionally busy” and that anyone attending with a non-urgent condition would “experience very long wait times”.
It outlined too how “this sort of situation is now a frequent occurrence” and management “sincerely apologise for that. As always, the staff are working very hard to treat and care for those who are particularly ill”.
To help free up beds, CGH asked for patients and families to work with them at the point of discharge and accept placements that may become immediately available”.
According to HSE operational figures released on Monday last, December 19, a total of 17 patients have tested positive for Covid.
On Sunday, four cases were confirmed in the previous 24 hours.
Five were confirmed in the 24 hours between Thursday and Friday last week when the total number of confirmed cases was 11.
Covid numbers in the hospital are now above where they last peaked towards the end of November.
As of Tuesday, December 13, in the past 14 days 518 cases of Covid have been confirmed nationally using PCR testing, and 1,181 registered a ‘positive’ Antigen.
That includes six cases up to December 12, and 87 in the past two weeks in Cavan- 28 in Bailieborough-Cootehill, 37 in Ballyjamesduff, and 34 in Cavan-Belturbet.
There have been 43 cases confirmed in Monaghan in the past 14 days, 25 in Leitrim, 21 in Longford, and 149 in Meath.