The Health Minister is launching a review into urgent and emergency care capacity in the mid-west region.
It’s to determine whether a second emergency department is required, in light of ongoing pressures at the emergency department at University Hospital Limerick.
Announcing this review, the Department of Health said the closure of smaller emergency departments in the mid-west region including Nenagh 15 years ago was based on clinical evidence at the time.
But since those decisions were made, the population of the region has grown considerably, and has a larger cohort of older people, who have a greater need for urgent and emergency care.
Overcrowding remains a problem at University Hospital Limerick’s emergency department – with the number of patients waiting on trolleys up by 39 per cent so far this year.
The Department of Health noted some reforms are underway at UHL, but significant changes are still needed, in terms of how the facility is run.
Terms of reference for the new review will be published, once a review by Mr Justice Frank Clarke has been considered, so that its recommendations can be incorporated.
