UL Hospitals Group Cancels Elective Surgeries, Outpatient Appointments

The UL Hospitals Group is cancelling all elective surgeries and outpatient appointments next Monday and Tuesday.

The move comes on top of the announcement of a visiting ban, the establishment of a helpline for the Mid-West, and a move to isolate some of the Group’s staff.

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These cancellations, announced after 3:00 this afternoon, are the latest in a series of moves by local health management today.

The UL Hospitals group says its cancelling all elective surgeries and outpatient appointments across all six sites on Monday and Tuesday.

This includes Limerick Regional and Ennis General.

A limited number of exemptions apply and these include but are not limited to patients attending for chemotherapy and dialysis and expectant mothers coming in for elective c-sections.

All patients whose appointment or procedure is going ahead will be contacted directly by staff.

A visiting ban is also in place for all six hospitals.

The hospitals group says the move comes in the interest of patient safety, and the measures are necessary in the interests of patient safety, and have been taken by the Crisis Management Team established by UL Hospitals Group on Wednesday night, March 4th, in the context of the coronavirus outbreak.

Earlier, the UL Hospitals group confirmed that a number of staff had been asked to self-isolate, after the confirmation of four cases of coronavirus here. Two more cases associated with those diagnoses have since been confirmed.

Meanwhile, a new coronavirus helpline has been established for the MidWest.

The line has been established as a local point of contact, and its number is 1890 300046.

The phone line is open from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. seven days a week.

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Media Release: UL Hospitals Group Curtails Elective Services

(LIMERICK: 06.03.20) UL Hospitals Group has announced the cancellation of all elective surgeries and outpatient appointments across all six sites on next Monday, March 9th and Tuesday, March 10th.

The affected hospitals are University Hospital Limerick, University Maternity Hospital Limerick, Ennis Hospital, Nenagh Hospital, St John’s Hospital and Croom Orthopaedic Hospital. A visiting ban is also in place in all six hospitals.

These measures are necessary in the interests of patient safety and have been taken by the Crisis Management Team established by UL Hospitals Group on Wednesday night, March 4th, in the context of the current public health emergency.

We regret any inconvenience or distress the cancellation of appointments and elective surgery may cause to our patients. All affected patients will be rescheduled at the earliest opportunity.

A limited number of exemptions apply and these include but are not limited to patients attending for chemotherapy and dialysis and expectant mothers coming in for elective c-sections.

All patients whose appointment or procedure is going ahead will be contacted directly by our staff.

Colette Cowan, CEO, UL Hospitals Group, said: “We sincerely regret having to reduce services across our sites in this fashion. However, patient safety is our highest priority and as part of a number of actions in that regard, it is necessary to reduce activity in the coming days and prioritise services for our sickest patients.

“We have entered a challenging period for patients and their loved ones and for all of our staff. Our staff have been preparing for this challenge for several weeks now and we are now putting those plans into effect. Members of the public can help by co-operating with the current visitor ban across all six hospitals; by attending our Emergency Department only where necessary; by ensuring they follow all the relevant public health advice from reputable sources and taking the simple precautions to protect themselves, their loved ones and our community at large.”