UL Hospitals Group is preparing for significant disruption and service delays across its six hospital sites today from 8am to 8pm, due to planned nationwide significant disruption by members of the Medical Laboratory Scientists Association (MLSA).
The industrial action has led to the cancellation of many inpatient and day-case elective procedures as well as some outpatient appointments scheduled for this Wednesday in the Midwest and across the country.
UL Hospitals Group has been directly contacting all patients who will be impacted.
Outpatient appointments that do not require bloods to be taken are going ahead, and anyone who has an appointment for today and who has not been contacted should attend as scheduled.
Essential services at University Hospital Limerick (UHL), including oncology and dialysis, will remain open. The hospital’s Emergency Department will also remain open, but patients with non-urgent care needs are likely to experience significant delays in service.
Impacted services at UHL include some elective surgeries, bronchoscopies, endoscopies, and Warfarin clinics.
The Medical Assessment Units at Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s Hospitals will be running as reduced services, while Injury Units at those hospitals will be open as normal. Some elective surgeries will be cancelled, as will endoscopies, on all three sites. In addition, Gynaecology services at Nenagh Hospital will be cancelled for the day.
The day of industrial action has also led to the cancellation of some elective surgeries at Croom Orthopaedic Hospital.
Elective surgery is being cancelled at University Maternity Hospital Limerick (UMHL). However, the emergency maternity unit and neonatal emergency department services will continue, as will labour ward services, and most antenatal appointments will go ahead.
As efforts continue at national level to try and avert the industrial action, UL Hospitals Group has been working with the MLSA locally to ensure that arrangements are in place this Wednesday to safely provide the curtailed range of services.
