An additional two Emergency Medicine consultants and eleven Non-Consultant Hospital Doctors will be recruited this winter to combat overcrowding at the region’s main hospital.
The UL Hospitals Group and HSE Mid West Community Healthcare have published a joint winter plan outlining the measures which will be in place to reduce the demand on University Hospital Limerick during the busy winter season.
A key focus for HSE Mid West Community Healthcare is reducing the pressure on the region’s main hospital through a series of targeted measures designed to support older people.
Community Intervention Teams teams focusing on hospital avoidance and early supported discharge to the person’s home are also a focal point of the plan.
Teams in Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary are currently supporting an average of approximately 760 people each month.
Increased funding is being provided for additional GP access to diagnostics in primary care, allowing for patients to be referred directly for x-rays or scans.
Currently, in the Mid West region, over 1,400 of these scans are being completed each month.
The UL Hospital’s Group will utilise the new Geriatric Emergency Medicine (GEM) unit at UHL to expand ED admission-avoidance for over-75s, aided by the addition of 25 full-time staff.
There’ll be an increased focus on discharges with the recruitment of additional four discharge coordinators, four radiographers and a Clinical Nurse Manager (CNM2) who will specifically target discharges at weekends.
An additional two Emergency Medicine consultants and eleven Non Consultant Hospital Doctors will be recruited, with a particular focus on patient flow at pre-admission stage.
