It may take ‘considerable time' for full services at Letterkenny General Hospital to be restored following the damage caused by last weekend's flooding,

According to the Irish Association for Emergency Medicine (IAEM), the flooding on July 26 ‘resulted in the destruction of much of the hospital infrastructure, including the newly opened block which includes the emergency department (ED)'.

However, workers at the hospital have been commended for their response to the adverse weather. Staff, including doctors and nurses, worked to maintain limited services in another part of the hospital, which had not been damaged.

"The hospital's Major Emergency Plan was activated and it is to the credit of the hospital management team, the clinical staff and numerous volunteers that the disaster within the hospital was managed without adverse effects on patients," the IAEM said.

It also acknowledged the assistance offered by the EDs of Sligo Regional Hospital and Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry, ‘who have taken many of Letterkenny's would be patients and who will have to continue to do so for a number of weeks to come'.

Officials from the three trade unions, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), SIPTU and IMPACT, also commended the workers, insisting that their quick thinking ‘certainly saved lives'.

"Staff and management are to be congratulated for continuing to deliver services under very difficult circumstances. Although major questions need to be answered, we should all be grateful for the unselfish response of those involved," the unions said.

They added that they were ‘reassured' by public commitments made by the Minister for Health and senior health managers that the hospital will be reopened in full.

However, according to the IAEM, while ‘strenuous efforts' are being made to provide temporary accommodation for an ED on the grounds of the hospital, ‘it must be appreciated that for an ED to function and provide a safe service to patients, the necessary supporting infrastructure needs to be in place'.

"Basic hospital functions such as medical records, diagnostic imaging services, laboratory services, inpatient beds, inpatient specialist teams and operating theatre capability are required. As things currently stand, it seems likely that normal services will not be restored at Letterkenny for a considerable time," it said.