Over 8 thousand patients attended the Injuries unit at Nenagh hospital last year.
The figures have been released by the HSE as part of a new campaign to promote the vast level of medical treatments available at such units nationwide.
With serious overcrowding in Emergency Departments nationwide and trolley figures continuing to soar at South Tipp General and Limerick University hospital the HSE is launching a new focus on the role of the Injury Unit.
They were established at 11 hospitals nationwide – many at health facilities like Nenagh and Ennis General which had their 24 hour emergency departments removed.
According to the HSE the Units are designed and equipped to deal with a wide variety of injury from broken bones, dislocations, sprains, strains, wounds, scalds and minor burns that are unlikely to need overnight admission to hospital with access to x rays, stitching and cast applications.
However they don’t treat serious head or back injuries, medical illnesses or mental health problems or children under the age of five. The units are staffed by consultant lead teams of doctors and in Nenagh last year over 8 thousand patients used the facility in Tyone.
Dr Gerry McCarthy, Clinical Lead HSE Emergency Medicine Programme is urging people to think of the units when they suffer an injury adding added that patients can be referred directly to a linked hospital if further care is required.
