THE NEW elective surgery hub for Limerick will be ready to take day patients before the end of this year, it has been revealed, resulting in a huge improvement in waiting times for simple procedures.
The hub – at the former Scoil Carmel site on O’Connell Avenue in Limerick City – will help deal with the waiting lists for patients who need surgery of the kind that means they can be treated and discharged the same day they are admitted.
Answering a parliamentary question from Limerick’s Deputy Conor Sheehan, Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill outlined the plans for the new hub.
The Labour TD asked the Minister whether “demand modelling for elective treatment centres for Limerick will be carried out”.
The Minister said the hub “will significantly increase theatre capacity in the region. The complex will have four operating theatres and two procedure rooms, as well as additional consultation and assessment rooms, recovery bays, and functional support space.
“Operating as a satellite of University Hospital Limerick, the hub will improve access to day surgery in multiple surgical specialties.
“The Limerick surgical hub will treat large numbers of routine day case patients, freeing up hospital capacity for more complex procedures and helping people get surgery sooner.
“Once fully operational, the hub will be expected to deliver additional annual activity of circa 8,000 day case procedures, 5,700 minor ops procedures, and approximately 18,500 outpatient department appointments”.
The hub will not deal with emergency or complex surgeries, which will still be carried out at UHL.