donegaldaily.com
Exclusive: Letterkenny’s new Emergency Department could be closed until March next year, Donegal Daily has learned.
The full impact of the flood damage was being assessed by experts today.
We understand that initial estimates are that repair work will take up to nine months.
It means all emergencies will be diverted to Altnagelvin, Enniskillen and Sligo until March next year.
Today as new rain fell over Letterkenny, water was still being pumped from the car park leading to the €20M wrecked facility.
An elderly man who took ill in Falcarragh had to be airlifted to Derry for treatment.
Extra ambulance crews are on standby to remove other patients from Donegal for treatment in the North.
Medical equipment covered in water, sludge and sewage is being transferred to manufacturers in Germany to see if they can be salvaged.
Amongst that equipment is a €1.5M scanner which may have to be scrapped.
Staff are also now worried about the impact of the flooding on their positions over the next few months.
“It will be at least March or April next year before the hospital is back to what it was,” admitted one hospital insider today.
“People still don’t realise the damage that was done. It is horrendous.”
He also confirmed that parts of the building will have to be demolished and re-built after Friday’s floods.
A large media presence today at the hospital had expected a press conference, but this hasn’t happened.