People in the north west are being urged to only attend the emergency department at Letterkenny University Hospital if it is an emergency and to contact "their GP or out of hours service in the first instance if at all possible".
The hospital's emergency department is extremely busy with high numbers of people attending the department who need to be admitted to hospital for ongoing treatment.
Yesterday, 140 people attended at the Emergency Department and the hospital is seeing similar high attendances today.
There are currently 54 patients in the Emergency Department with 16 patients waiting to be admitted.
The hospital is advising that patients who attend ED for routine and non-urgent treatment will experience very long waiting times.
They said people who do require emergency care are encouraged to attend the Emergency Department where they will be prioritised.
A HSE statement said all available beds in the hospital are in use and patients are facing long waiting times to be admitted from the Emergency Department to a bed on a ward.
"Every effort is being made to discharge patients who are ready to go home so that beds will become available for patients who need to be admitted, at the earliest opportunity," the statement said.The hospital is postponing some elective procedures because of the pressures on the site and the lack of bed capacity.
Urgent, time sensitive cases are being prioritised. Patients are being contacted directly if their procedure is being postponed.
The hospital acknowledged that "these delays are very difficult for patients and their families" and they apologised "for the inconvenience and distress these delays cause".
