Kilkenny hospital forced to relocate children’s ward amid sharp rise in number of ‘seriously ill patients’ being admitted
St Luke’s General Hospital in Kilkenny has confirmed it has been forced to temporarily relocate the paediatric ward after it admitted “a lot of seriously ill patients”.
The hospital confirmed there has been a significant increase in the number of patients with “a variety of complex healthcare needs” – including people who are presenting with Covid-19 symptoms.
The announcement comes as wards 1 and 2 at St Luke’s remain closed to new admissions due to a previous outbreak of CPE and Covid infections.
In a statement issued today, the hospital confirmed: “Please note that the Paediatric Ward been temporarily relocated within the hospital to the former CCU on the Main Floor of the Hospital. Parents can access the relocated paediatric ward now via the current main entrance or the emergency department (out of hours). Temporary signage will be in place.”
The hospital said it expects the paediatric ward “will remain relocated for at least the next 2 weeks”.
A spokesperson added: “We apologise for the inconvenience caused to patients or their loved ones who are experiencing long wait times.
“We are asking people to think about all their care and treatment options, the length of time you may be waiting in ED/AMAU should you not require urgent care and we would ask that people keep our ED services for the patients who need them most.
“However, if you are seriously injured or ill the ED/AMAU will assess and treat you as a priority.”
