An A&E consultant has warned of "extreme pressure" at Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry.
Paul Baylis, in a message shared online by the Western Trust, said: "We're under extreme pressure here today.
"At the moment we have 48 patients waiting for admission. I only have 44 places to lie down in my emergency department, that's how tight it's got."
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He continued: "I have people that are waiting for beds, sitting on chairs.
"Please, my message is simple. If you have an emergency or you think you have an emergency then you're welcome to come down.
"You'll be seen and triaged. If it's an emergency we'll get to you as soon as we possibly can.
"If it's a non-urgent problem, this isn't the place to come today because you're going to be sitting for six, eight, ten, goodness knows 12 hours - I don't know.
"My guys have to get to the sick people and look after the sick people."
He added: "Ultimately, if it isn't an urgent matter please don't come to the emergency department of Altnagelvin Hospital here in Derry today because you're going to be waiting, regrettably, an awful long time."
The Western Trust say there are 90 people in total waiting in the A&E, of whom 44 are stuck waiting for a bed to free up to be admitted to a ward.
A total of 203 people have been seen in the last 24 hours, with 42 patients waiting over 12 hours.
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