Posted by Gardaí called to Wexford hospital as some Covid-19 patients ‘refuse to stay in designated room’
Repeated flouting of rules was ‘leading to heated conversations’ at the front door
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January 29 2021 05:11 PM
Gardaí were called to Wexford General Hospital this week due to some Covid-19 patients refusing to stay in a designated room.
Dr Mick Molloy, consultant in emergency medicine, said some people presenting to the hospital after testing positive for Covid were leaving isolation areas.
He also criticised some patients for not wearing face masks while on the hospital grounds.
“It’s leading to heated conversations at our front door. If you indicate you have had a Covid diagnosis, we’re not trying to stop people coming in, we’re trying to make sure that when we move you from the front door you’re going straight into a room so you don’t get exposed to other people and touch surfaces in the hospital,” he told the Morning Mix with Alan Corcoran on South East Radio.
“We’ve had to call the gardaí on more than one occasion this week to keep people in the rooms as they’re insisting on going out for cigarettes and walking around. We can’t facilitate it at this time. We’re trying to protect you and everyone else.
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“We need people’s cooperation to stay in that room as we’re trying to make sure people don’t transmit the disease further into the environment or onto hospital surfaces.”
A garda spokesperson said they responded to reports of a disturbance at the hospital on January 25.
“On arrival at the scene and after conducting inquiries, a male who had previously attended the hospital was directed to leave the area,” the spokesperson said. ×
Dr Molloy revealed a number of patients in the intensive care unit at Wexford General Hospital had to be moved to other hospitals in the country due to a lack of capacity.
As of Thursday night, there were 49 people hospitalised with Covid-19 at the hospital.
Wexford currently has the fifth-highest infection rate in the country, while Enniscorthy has the third-highest infection rate out of all towns, according to new data released by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre last night.
