Tipperary hospital day care surgery to be cancelled as ED crisis hits local services
Day case procedures in Nenagh Hospital are to be cancelled next week as a knock-on of the ED crisis at University Hospital Limerick begins to have an effect on what are termed Model 2 hospitals.
Cancellations will also affect those who expected to have day care procedures in Ennis and St John's in Limerick as well as having an impact on some elective surgery at Croom Orthopaedic Hospital
Day beds at these hospitals are being used as additional, or surge capacity, for inpatients being admitted locally or transferred from UHL.
University Hospital Limerick, Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s Hospital are all operating at or above capacity as hospitals across the region manage a wave of illness largely driven by acute respiratory conditions, according to a spokesperson for University Hospital Limerick Group.
However, outpatient clinics will resume at UHL on Monday, January 9, and patients with an appointment are advised to attend.
Outpatient clinics at Nenagh, St John's, Croom Orthopaedic, Ennis and University Maternity Hospital Limerick remain unaffected this week and next with patients advised to attend.
Planned reductions in scheduled care at UHL mean that only time-critical elective surgery will take place next week.
The spokesperson said that actions taken to decongest the Emergency Department at University Hospital Limerick since the declaration of a major internal incident on January 2 are to remain in effect over the coming days.
Following the declaration of a major internal incident by the Hospital Crisis Management Team (HCMT) on January 2, a number of extraordinary measures have been taken to reduce overcrowding, in particular in the Emergency Department. These actions, in line with the hospital escalation plan, have included:
- Reductions in scheduled care
- Opening of surge capacity at UHL, including inpatients currently in the Surgical Day Ward, Surgical Short-Stay Unit, Geriatric Emergency Medicine Unit, Acute Medical and Surgical Assessment Units, Post-Operative Care Unit and the Cardiology Unit
- Admitted patients in the ED have been transferred on trolleys to inpatient wards in UHL
- Opening of surge bed capacity at Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s hospitals
- The transfer of appropriate medical patients to Croom Orthopaedic Hospital
Use of private bed capacity
Through these measures, the number of admitted patients waiting in our ED has reduced and the instances of extreme overcrowding seen at the beginning of the week have come down, said the spokesperson.
"However, the numbers waiting for an inpatient bed across the hospital group are still too high," they said.
Yesterday morning, there were 14 admitted patients on corridors within ED and patients continue to face lengthy wait times to see a doctor, in particular patients with less urgent healthcare needs.
"We expect we will continue to see high numbers of attendances at our ED and high numbers of admitted patients waiting for beds to continue into the coming weeks," they said.
Meanwhile, a meeting of the HCMT this Thursday also confirmed that hospital-wide visiting restrictions at UHL are to remain in place.
Widespread outpatient cancellations remain in effect at UHL for this Friday, January 6.
There are a number of exemptions to the outpatient cancellations.
Clinics going ahead this Friday include:
- Cancer services (oncology and haematology day ward; haematology and oncology outpatient clinics; medical oncology clinics; rapid access clinics for breast, lung and prostate)
- Dialysis
- Paediatric outpatients
- Acute Fracture Unit
Appointments deemed time-critical in other specialties will also go ahead. Patients affected by cancellations are being contacted directly by our staff.
Patients who are not contacted by phone or by text to cancel their appointment are advised to attend.
"We apologise to every patient who is currently experiencing a long wait for admission at UHL, and for the inconvenience and frustration this causes for patients’ loved ones," the spokesperson said.