The UL Hospitals Group is asking less acutely unwell patients to consider all available alternatives to the ED, as it manages high demand for emergency and inpatient care ahead of the Easter weekend.
It comes as the INMO has recorded 111 patients on trolleys at University Hospital Limerick during morning rounds.
Hospital Management say all sites across the UL Hospitals Group remain very busy, with continued high Emergency Department attendances and inpatient admissions at University Hospital Limerick.
729 patients have presented at the ED between Monday and 8am today, with the INMO reporting 111 on trolleys at the Dooradoyle facility during morning rounds.
The UL Hospitals Group says anyone with a serious injury or unexpected illness should attend the ED, but with all sites in a state of escalation, it’s likely that anyone presenting with less than urgent healthcare needs will face a lengthy wait.
They say they continue to balance demand for emergency healthcare with the needs of inpatients, while safely maintaining time-critical and other elective activity.
This has prompted a call to people with less than urgent healthcare needs to consider the Injury Unit at Ennis General and all other healthcare options, to help avoid inevitably long waits at the ED.
Hospital Management has continued working to their escalation framework this week to create surge capacity and maximise numbers of inpatient beds available across all hospital sites.
Additional ward rounding is ongoing so that appropriate patients can be discharged or transferred to Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s Hospitals.
They’re also working with colleagues in HSE Mid West Community Healthcare, in order to further expedite suitable discharges home or to community care beds.
Consultants and senior clinical decision makers have been requested to be available over the weekend in order to support discharge and movement of patients.
In addition to Injury Units, people who are less than acutely unwell are being encouraged to consider GPs, out-of-hours GP services and local pharmacies, before attending the ED.
