by Bernie English bernie@limerickpost.ie
THE Acute Medical Assessment unit at the University Hospital in Dooradoyle re-opened early this week after a three day closure as the hospital struggled to cope with a surge in patient numbers.
The Irish Medial Organisation (IMO) was critical of the fact that hospital management advised GPs that the unit had no room for seriously ill patients because of overcrowding in the Emergency Department since Christmas.
IMO spokesman Dr Ray Walley said the hospital’s decision put seriously ill people and GPs in the region under “extreme pressure”.
“This shows the true state of the Irish health service as we enter 2014. It shows a broken system that has no room for seriously ill people who need it.”
He said it beggared belief that the Government was cutting services at a time when hospitals couldn’t treat people who were referred there by their GP”.
He added the move had also put huge pressure on neighbouring hospitals and resulted in even longer waiting times for patients when they presented at the emergency departments of those hospitals.
“This is a ludicrous situation where seriously ill patients are being forced onto A&E trolleys instead of being treated in the assessment unit and is completely unsustainable.
A spokesman for the HSE said GPs had been notified of a “major surge” in the emergency department and that some of these patients had to be accommodated in the assessment unit.
