Services at the emergency department of St. Luke's Hospital in Kilkenny are returning to normal after it was evacuated for a short time this morning. A fault in the ventilation system and the triggering of a smoke alarm caused the emergency response.
A statement from St Luke's says the evacuation was only a pre-cautionary measure with minimal impact to patient services.
Patients were temporarily treated at the Medical Assessment Unit and the Stroke Therapy area in the hospital.
St. Luke's says normal services at the hospital were not affected.
But in a statement, the hospital adds that due to the hospital consequently being "exceptionally busy" today, people should in the first instance go to their GP as an alternative to attending the Emergency Department at St. Luke's.
It concludes to say that acute emergencies continue to be prioritised.
