UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL LIMERICK (UHL) has appealed to the public to use available alternative services as it is experiencing “exceptionally high demand” with a significant amount of admitted patients already on trolleys.
Management for UHL acknowledged that patients are “facing an unacceptably long waiting time for a bed” at the Dooradoyle facility.
Surge capacity is open across all UL Hospital Group sites while additional staff have been rostered at weekends to increase discharges.
In a statement to The Clare Echo, a spokesperson for UL Hospitals Group outlined that the hospital “is currently experiencing exceptionally high demand with a significant number of admitted patients being accommodated on trolleys. We are urging patients and service users to use all available alternative services where possible. Injury Units and Out-of-Hours GP services are fully operational and can provide care for non-life-threatening conditions”.
UHL’s emergency department remains open 24/7 for patients with life-threatening injuries but individuals with less urgent injuries or illnesses are likely to have to contend with “substantial waiting times”.
Injury units in Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s are open from 8am to 8pm with patients experiencing times averaging less than two hours.
“We apologise to every patient who is currently facing an unacceptably long waiting time for a bed and our staff are doing everything possible to provide the best possible care while they do wait. We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and sincerely thank all hospital staff for their professionalism, dedication, and compassionate care during this period of exceptional activity. We continue to monitor the situation closely and will provide further updates as necessary,” the statement added.
Clare TD, Donna McGettigan (SF) stated, “So once again we are being urged to use alternative services where possible. While our injury clinic is great , do they not know Clare is considered a black spot when it comes to GPs, Shannondoc is also not a service that works for everyone. We have people all over Clare contacting our offices regularly because they cannot access a GP. The HIQA report clearly states an option of a new model three hospital in the Mid-West. It’s time to listen to the people directly affected by this”.
