WITH the bank holiday weekend arriving and in a week where there were 125 admitted patients on trolleys on one day alone, HSE Mid West is urging people to consider alternatives to coming to the emergency department (ED) at University Hospital Limerick (UHL).
GP out-of-hours services and pharmacies may be more helpful to consider instead of presenting at the ED, a spokesman said.
GPs can also refer appropriate patients to local medical assessment units, which are open seven days a week at Ennis, Nenagh, and St John’s hospitals.
Shannondoc out-of-hours GP services will operate for the duration of the bank holiday weekend and can be contacted on 0818 123 500.
“Hospitals have enhanced and expanded local access to urgent care facilities and medical assessment units as an alternate pathway to ED. The injury units and medical assessment units in Ennis, Nenagh, and St John’s Hospitals are managing approximately 1,200 patients per week,” the spokesman said.
Injury units operate 8am to 8pm for walk-in treatment of minor injuries such as breaks, sprains, and burns. Patients are typically seen and treated in under two hours.
Patients do not need an appointment to attend injury unit and, if referred by a GP, will not have to pay the €75 fee.
Numbers for local units are:
- St John’s Injury Unit, Limerick City, 061 462 132
- Ennis Injury Unit, 065 686 3121
- Nenagh Injury Unit, 067 42 311
Medical assessment units are open 16 hours a day, 8am to 12 midnight, seven days a week. They provide a direct referral pathway for GPs to secure prompt assessment and treatment of medical patients who otherwise might have presented to Limerick ED.
The ED at UHL is open 24/7 for the most acute and life-threatening conditions.
With the ED continuing to experience high attendances in the run-up to the holiday weekend, the HSE is are working to maximise patient flow in acute hospitals and across the healthcare system in the region.
