Pilot project will see some patients treated at Mallow General rather than A&E

If successful, the new programme could pave the way for an overhaul in accessing emergency care in hospitals around the country.

Mallow General Hospital a Model 2 hospital, similar to those in Ennis and Nenagh. Picture: Dan Linehan

Patients in the North Cork region are the first to benefit from a pilot project  testing whether ambulance patients could be treated in Mallow General Hospital instead of an emergency department.

Emergency departments around the country are facing an unprecedented winter crisis, with the numbers on trolleys standing at 508 on Monday, including 80 patients alone at Cork University Hospital.