'˜Major incident' declared at Altnagelvin earlier this week

A '˜major incident' was declared at Altnagelvin Area Hospital's emergency department on Monday.

The Western Health and Social Care Trust (W.H.S.C.T.) confirmed the ‘major incident’ arose as a direct result of large numbers of patients.

A spokesperson for W.H.S.C.T. said the incident was “stood down” within hours.

“The Trust [W.H.S.C.T.] activated its business continuity measures before Christmas and this supported the Trust’s operation through the outbreak of Norovirus.

“(Monday) January 2 2017 proved a particularly difficult and challenging day and the emergency plan was enacted for a period of time to deal with a pressurised period in our ED (emergency department).

“This measure was stood down shortly afterwards.”