Calls have been made for an urgent care centre to be opened at the region’s main hospital.
Miltown Malbay GP Dr Billy O’Connell has proposed the facility at University Hospital Limerick, in response to rising trolley numbers and increasing waiting times for inpatient and outpatient appointments.
Urgent Care Centres, which have been successful in the UK, allow patients to be seen by a senior clinician who would determine whether transfer to the emergency department was necessary.
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Dr O’Connell says the UL Hospitals Group is looking into the possibility of opening such a facility, which he believes would make a huge difference in reducing chronic overcrowding:
