The UL Hospitals Group has apologised to anyone experiencing long waiting times for a bed at the region’s main hospital.
It comes as University Hospital Limerick remains under severe pressure following what management have described as sustained, record-breaking activity levels in the Emergency Department and a surge in Covid-19 activity over the last number of weeks.
Nurses say there were 95 on trolleys this morning, the highest ever recorded.
The latest INMO figures show there were 69 patients on trolleys in the emergency department at University Hospital Limerick this morning, with a further 26 accommodated in overflow areas of wards.
The overall figure of 95 is the highest on record at the Dooradoyle facility and is 4 more than the previous record set on January 6th last year.
The UL Hospitals Group says there have been 241 daily presentations to the ED since Monday, November 8th, with more than 270 on two days over the past week.
The hospital is also continuing to manage a COVID outbreak that’s affecting four inpatient wards.
There were 45 COVID-positive inpatients being treated in the hospital this morning, 13 of whom were in the ICU, which is a rise of 4 on Monday’s figure.
Hospital management say they’re continuing to follow their Escalation Plan, which includes use of surge capacity, undertaking additional ward rounds, accelerating discharges and identifying patients for transfer to Model 2 hospitals.
However they say, many patients currently admitted to UHL are sicker and with more complicated conditions, and require longer inpatient stays to recover.
The UL Hospitals Group is urging people to consider their care options before attending the ED, including their GP and the injuries unit at Ennis General Hospital which is open from 8am to 8pm seven days a week.
Statement from the UL Hospitals Group
We apologise to all patients who are facing long wait times for a bed at University Hospital Limerick. The hospital remains under severe pressure as a result of sustained, record-breaking activity levels at our Emergency Department and a surge in Covid-19 activity over the last number of weeks.
At 8am this morning, there were 61 admitted patients on trolleys in the Emergency Department, Medical Assessment Unit(MAU), Surgical Assessment Unit and, in line with our escalation plan, on our general wards. A further 31 admitted patients were in single rooms, beds/designated bed spaces in ED and MAU before transfer to a bed in a designated inpatient area. In line with our escalation plan, we have also opened surge capacity to manage extremely high activity levels.
Average daily presentations to ED since Monday, November 8th have been 241. On two days over the past week, presentations have exceeded 270. This compares to 195 presentations per day during 2019.
As of, November 15th, there were 45 COVID-positive inpatients being treated in the hospital, of whom 13 were receiving critical care.
We also continue to manage a COVID outbreak in the hospital that continues to affect four inpatient wards.
We continue to follow our Escalation Plan, which includes use of surge capacity, undertaking additional ward rounds, accelerating discharges and identifying patients for transfer to our Model 2 hospitals. However, many patients currently admitted to UHL are sicker and with more complicated conditions, and require longer inpatient stays to recover.
We reiterate our advice to members of the public to consider all available care options before presenting to the ED. Injury units in Ennis and Nenagh are open from 8am to 8pm, and in St John’s from 8am to 7pm, seven days a week. Injury Units are for the treatment of broken bones, dislocations, sprains strains, wounds, scalds and minor burns. More information on our Injury Units is available here. Anyone with less serious illness or conditions should contact their GPs or out-of-hours GP services. However, if you are seriously injured or ill or are worried your life is at risk the ED will assess and treat you as a priority.
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.
