Hospital appeals to public to consider alternative options before presenting at Limerick ED
UNIVERSITY Hospital Limerick asked the public on Tuesday to consider all care options before presenting to the Emergency Department as they are currently experiencing extremely high demand.
A total of 261 patients attended the ED on Monday, significantly above average and it follows an unusually busy weekend.
In recent weeks the hospital have been caring for an exceptionally high number of unwell medical patients associated with a surge in respiratory illnesses and who require admission to hospital.
UHL is currently at its highest state of escalation. Surge capacity has been opened at UHL.
Elective activity in UHL is being reviewed on a daily basis, with only urgent and time-critical patients, including cancer cases, scheduled for surgery this week.
The Emergency Department remains open 24/7 and urgent care is being delivered to those who need it most.
A spokesperson for UHL warned that anyone who comes to ED who doesn’t have a life-threatening or severe illness or injury will face a significant wait.
"Our teams are working hard to ensure emergency care is available for our patients. The ED is open 24/7 and delivering urgent care to those who need it most.
"Injury Units and Medical Assessment Units in our model 2 hospitals at Ennis, Nenagh and St John's are also experiencing an increase in demand. It is encouraging to see this increase in demand for services available in our model 2 hospitals as more patients choose alternatives to the ED.
"We apologise to anyone who has had a long wait for admission to University Hospital Limerick in recent days. We thank the public for their patience and support at this time of exceptionally high demand for our services.
"At the same time, we ask the public to support us in ensuring emergency care is prioritised for the sickest, most seriously injured and frailest patients."