The HSE has issued an appeal to people seeking medical care or assessment to consider all options before going to a hospital Emergency Department.
It expects it to be one of the busiest ever periods experienced by the health service.
This latest appeal comes just days after the annual trolley county report from the Irish Nurses & Midwives organisation which said 2022 was the busiest year ever at St Luke’s.
More than 6,000 patients were recorded on trolleys at the local hospital over the past 12 months.
The Ireland East hospital group had issued its own appeal to locals on behalf of St Luke’s in recent days advising that an escalation in presentations was impacting on bed capacity.
