Cork University Hospital (CUH) has been forced to ask members of the public to avoid attending the emergency department (ED) where possible due to an "exceptionally busy" number of weeks.
On Monday morning, CUH released a statement urging members of the public to contact their GP or the local out-of-hours service, South Doc, in the first instance and to "explore all other options available to them prior to attending the emergency department if their needs are not urgent".
The hospital said that due to the increased level of activity in recent weeks and subsequent admissions, "it is regrettable that some patients may experience a delay in the ED".
"The increase in attendance is due to the large number of very ill medical patients requiring admission.
"Patient care is paramount in CUH and this situation is being treated as a priority by hospital management who have taken steps to address this issue," the statement added.
The plea from CUH comes as 449 patients are waiting on trolleys in hospitals around the country, 344 of whom are waiting in an ED.
According to the latest figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), University Hospital Limerick (UHL) once again has the highest number of patients awaiting a bed, 32 of whom are in the ED.
Meanwhile, 40 patients are waiting on trolleys in CUH, all of whom are in the hospital's ED.
