'A lot of patients' admitted to Mullingar Hospital today

A lot of seriously ill patients "with a variety of complex healthcare needs" have been admitted to Mullingar hospital this morning.

As a result both the hospital and the emergency department are very busy - but consultants are doing additional ward rounds to facilitate discharges, a hospital spokesperson said, adding that the hospital is working with the community to discharge patients where it is appropriate to the community.

"We are asking people to think about all their care and treatment options, the length of time you may be waiting in ED should you not require urgent care and we would ask that people keep our ED services for the patients who need them most," the spokesperson said adding that the hospital wished to apologise for the distress or inconvenience caused to patients or their loved ones who are experiencing long wait times.

The spokesperson also issued an assurance that if patients are seriously injured or ill the ED will assess and treat them as a priority.