A new 17-bed unit has opened at University Hospital Limerick as part of efforts to tackle overcrowding there.
Trolley numbers reached record levels in the past number of weeks with as many as 69 people waiting to be admitted at one time, but yesterday the number was reduced to 33.
The new ward is located on the site of the old ED, which has now been refurbished.
It is open on a 24-hour basis and is is intended for short stays.
Statement from the UL Hospitals Group
UL Hospitals Group opened a 17 bed, medical short-stay ward at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) on Monday 18th September.
The new ward is located in a refurbished area of the former old Emergency Department at UHL, which closed to the public in May when the new €24 million ED opened on site.
Plans for the short-stay ward were initially announced when the ED opened, since then the refurbishment has been underway and has continued throughout the Summer.
On presentation to the new ED or to the Acute Medical Assessment Unit at UHL, medical patients who require admission, with an expected length of stay of no greater than 48 hours, can now be admitted to the new medical short-stay ward.
The 17 bed medical short stay ward, which will operate 7 days per week, 24 hours a day, is one of the measures designed to address the bed capacity needs of UL Hospitals Group.
In addition to the new medical short stay ward, UHL has 400 inpatient beds which is recognised as being insufficient for the needs of the MidWest Region.
A bid to build an additional 96 bed block on the UHL site has been submitted to the Department of Health and approval has been granted for funding of the design stage of the build.
