Cork University Hospital cancels non-urgent elective surgeries to tackle overcrowding

All non-urgent elective surgeries have again been cancelled at Cork University Hospital because of overcrowding.

The hospital is also urging people to stay away from its emergency department, if possible.

There are currently 48 people awaiting admission.

Speaking to Cork's 96FM, CUH chief executive Tony McNamara said that number is the highest it's ever been - and the situation is critical.

He said: "We're appealing to the public for their understanding…We're going to have to cancel some elective admissions today, which is something we abhor doing - it's only our second time doing it in the last year and a half or so - but we've no choice in the interests of making sure those patients that require urgent admission are facilitated."

Last week, similar action was taken at CUH and in Dublin's Beaumont and Mater hospitals as part of a similar effort to tackle overcrowding.

Flu season and a spike in the number of broken bones and other injuries caused by falls on ice were blamed for last week's cancellations.