Tipperary councillor and ULHG differ on why patients are not attending Limerick facility

A Tipperary county councillor and University Limerick Hospital Group have differed on why there appears to be so few people from north Tipperary attending the University Hospital Limerick.

The people of north Tipperary are avoiding University Hospital Limerick, according to Cllr Seamus Morris following the release of the number of attendances by county at the hospital so far this year to Cllr Cillian Murphy from Clare at the September meeting of the Regional Health Forum.

Cllr Murphy had asked to be provided with an update on progress of the joint motion passed at the May 2023 meeting that UHL group would undertake, as a pilot project over six months, the necessary monitoring to determine the county of origin of each attendee to the ED at UHL.

According to the figures, a total of 55,073 people attended at the hospital, but only 6,158 of those were from north Tipperary.

The largest number - 32,594 came from Limerick and the remaining 13,607 were from Clare. However, the HSE cautioned that this data was preliminary and there was a small margin of error.

“The answer clearly shows that people from North Tipperary are avoiding UHL in huge numbers. The people of North Tipperary are fast losing faith in UHL as the so-called centre of excellence promised to us in 2009,” said Cllr Morris.

However, UHLG said in a statement to Tipperary Live that provisional data provided to the Regional Health Forum member concerned related to an eight-month period and "should be interpreted with caution".

They pointed out that, in north Tipperary, activity at Nenagh Hospital had increased significantly in recent years.

Attendances at Nenagh Injury Unit grew to 10,216 in 2022, an increase of 30% on the previous year. Attendances at the Medical Assessment in Nenagh stood at 2,476 in 2022, an increase of 85% on the previous year.

This growth in activity is set to continue in 2023 with the expansion of Nenagh MAU to a seven-day service supported by the recruitment of additional staff, they said.

"Patients in Tipperary seeking to access emergency care may also have more convenient options available in Clonmel, Portlaoise or Tullamore. Community services to support the frail elderly and those living with chronic disease are also being built up in the Mid-West in line with Slaintecare," they said.

The spokesperson said that, as always, they encourageed patients to consider all care options, including GP, GP out-of-hours, pharmacy and Injury Units before presenting at the busy Emergency Department at University Hospital Limerick, warning that patients presenting to the ED with less serious injuries and illnesses are likely to face long delays.

"Availing of alternative care options will provide an appropriate expert level of care in a timely manner. Current patient experience times at Nenagh Injury Unit, for example, is 77 minutes," they said.