30 percent of staff in the Emergency Department at Sligo University Hospital are unavailable for work at present due to Covid 19. That includes staff who have Covid-19, who have symptoms of the virus or are close contacts of a positive case.
This is putting huge stress on the staff that are on duty, according to Sinn Fein Sligo Leitrim deputy Martin Kenny.
He is calling again on the general public to stay at home and to only attend the Emergency Dept of the hospital if their GP refers them. Otherwise he says the first port of call must be your primary care centre or your GP
On Friday last, it’s reported that there were 172 Sligo University Hospital staff, in total, were unavailable for work due to covid related issues.
The Sinn Fein deputy says that with significantly fewer staff generally ,the hospital is now dealing with an increase in patient volume, as well as increased demand for ICU beds, staff and equipment.
He has been speaking to Midwest News about his concerns.
