Temple Street Children's Hospital account for overcrowding reports

Due to a recent surge in the number of children presenting with acute gastroenteritis, Temple Street hospital has experienced very busy period over the last fortnight.

Responding to recent reports of overcrowding, the hospital stated that on extremely busy nights, in consultation with other hospitals, they may decided to go off-call to ambulances for a certain period of time in a bid to alleviate pressure in the Emergency Department of the Dublin hospital.

The report asserted that the well-being of children was the main priority and that children who required admission were given beds in the hospital as soon as possible.

The report also stated that in the event Temple Street cannot offer a child a bed, a transfer is arranged with other available hospitals, such as Crumlin or Tallaght, to ensure the child receives one.

Recent figures have shown that over 50,000 children attended the hospital's Emergency Department on an annual basis.