Management at University Hospital Limerick have announced the extension of curbs on non-urgent outpatient appointments.
All but the most time-critical outpatient appointments at UHL were cancelled yesterday, as well as some elective surgery there and at St John’s Hospital.
This move has been extended to cover today and tomorrow.
UL Hospitals Group say there were 52 Covid-positive patients at UHL as of yesterday, including six receiving critical care.
The hospital is also managing a very high level of emergency presentations.
UL Hospitals Group is extending today’s (Monday) one-day cancellation of all but the most time-critical outpatient appointments at University Hospital Limerick, and some elective surgery at St John’s Hospital and UHL, until this Wednesday, October 20th.
Patients who are directly affected by these cancellations are being contacted by UL Hospitals Group, and will be rescheduled at the earliest opportunity.
Outpatient appointments at Ennis, Nenagh, Croom and University Maternity Hospital Limerick are unaffected by the decision. Emergency care will also continue through the Emergency Department (ED) in UHL, and the Injury Units in Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s Hospitals will remain open.
Services that are unaffected by these cancellations and will continue are:
– Cancer Clinics
– Rapid Access Lung Clinics
– Rapid Access Prostate Clinics
– Rapid Access Breast Clinics
– Nurse led Heart Failure and Cardiac Rehab
– Day-case Angiograms
– Acute Fracture Clinic, UHL
– Endoscopy Clinics
– Eye Clinic
– ENT Clinic
– Endocrinology Clinic
– Dermatology Clinic
– Vascular Laboratory Clinic
If you have an appointment at these specific clinics, please attend as normal. Please note that the site-wide visiting restrictions introduced on October 5th in response to an outbreak of COVID-19 at the hospital, remain in place for now. These restrictions are outlined here. As of today, Monday, there are 52 COVID-positive patients in the hospital, of which six are in critical care, either in our Intensive Care or High Dependency Units.
Cancelling elective activity is an option of last resort, and the Group is profoundly sorry for the impact these cancellations will have on patients who had expected to attend for clinics or procedures on Monday, many of whom will have been waiting a long time for appointments. In this context, the decision to cancel electives and outpatient clinics has been taken in the interests of the safety of all patients and staff in UHL.
The situation is being reviewed daily, in the hope of resuming the cancelled services as soon as possible.
UHL continues to manage an extraordinarily high level of emergency presentations, and increasing numbers of COVID-positive patients, and the decision to extend the cancellation in order to assist with patient flow in the hospital.
The Group renews its appeal for the public’s help by asking them to consider all available care options, while the hospital frees up capacity to care for seriously ill patients presenting to the Emergency Department at UHL
UHL continues to experience high emergency presentations and admissions. So far in October, there has been an average of 243 attendances at ED on weekdays, and 190 on weekends. The daily average attendance at ED in 2019, the last full year pre-pandemic, was 195.
We continue to work to all elements of our Escalation Plan, including additional ward rounds, accelerating discharges and identifying patients for transfer to our Model 2 hospitals. We are also working with our colleagues in HSE Mid-West Community Healthcare, in order to expedite discharges. However, it should be noted that patients being admitted to UHL at this time are generally very sick with complex conditions, and require longer inpatient stays to recover.
All patients who present to the ED with minor injuries at this time—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. Full information on the range of services that are available in our Injury Units is available the HSE website here. Anyone with less serious illnesses or conditions at this time is asked to first consult their local pharmacists or to contact their GPs or out-of-hours GP services, before attending the ED at UHL. Patients attending the ED can expect to experience long delays.
However, we want to reassure the people of the Mid-West that anyone who is seriously injured or ill, or worried that their lives may be at risk, or who needs emergency treatment for heart attacks, strokes and other serious illnesses, will be treated as a priority, 24/7, in the Emergency Department at UHL.
We apologise to any patient who has experienced a long wait for admission to UHL during this period of exceptionally high demand for our services.
