Injury Units in Nenagh and Ennis Hospitals and St John’s Limerick will play a vital role in UL Hospitals’ Group’s ring-fencing of the Emergency Department (ED) at University Hospital Limerick (UL) for treatment of Covid-19 cases and other seriously ill patients during the ongoing public health emergency.
As de-escalation of the region’s main acute hospital continues in anticipation of the Covid-19 surge, all patients with minor injuries—such as suspected broken bones, cuts, bruises, sprains and strains—will be redirected to the Injury Units in Nenagh, Ennis and St John’s for treatment.
To support this redirection of minor injury work, the injury unit at St John’s is moving from five-day to seven-day opening.
From Saturday March 28th, the facility will open from 8am to 7pm on weekends. The unit’s weekday opening hours have also been extended, with the facility open until 7pm every day.
Dr Gareth Quin, Consultant in Emergency Medicine at UHL and St John’s Hospital Injury Unit, encouraged patients with minor injuries to attend the group’s Injury Units.
“Our teams of highly experienced doctors, advanced nurse practitioners and nurses, radiographers and physiotherapists, can deliver expert care and treatment for a wide range of injuries including broken bones, dislocations, sprains, strains, wounds, scalds and minor burns,” he said.
However, patients with minor injuries who feel they are also displaying the symptoms of coronavirus infection should continue to present at the Emergency Department in UHL.
Dr Quin explained staff anticipate that the Emergency Department will become extremely busy with coronavirus patients and, to reduce demand on the ED, staff will redirect patients with minor injuries to St John’s, Ennis and Nenagh, where their well established injury units provide an excellent service to patients with minor injuries.
Outside the Injury Units’ opening hours, patients with minor injuries may defer care to the next day, or attend UHL, where they will be seen and treated in a part of the hospital outside of the ED.
All query Covid-19 patients will be managed in the ED at UHL. However, the ED will not be providing a swabbing service.
The only patients being swabbed in the Emergency Department will be those sick enough to require hospital admission.
Dan Danaher
East Clare correspondent, Dan Danaher is a journalism graduate of Rathmines and UL. He has won numerous awards for special investigations on health, justice, environment, and reports on news, agriculture, disability, mental health and community.