AMBULANCES responding to 112/999 calls in the Mid-West are now allowed to bring non-urgent cases to Nenagh General Hospital as part of an extended strategy to relieve overcrowding in the emergency department at University Hospital Limerick (UHL).
The move comes as figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) show there were 86 patients on trolleys waiting for beds at UHL this morning, including 34 in the emergency department and 52 in other areas.
Since 2009, UHL has provided the only 24-hour emergency department service for a population of around 400,000 after accident and emergency services were closed in Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s Hospitals.
Under the 2009 Accident and Emergency reconfiguration policy, ambulances could only transport 112/999 patients to the emergency department at UHL, bypassing St Johns, Ennis, and Nenagh.
However ambulances have been allowed bring 112/999 patients to the Medical Assessment Unit (MAU) at Ennis Hospital since January 9 and this was extended to Nenagh Hospital this morning
According to a statement issued by the University of Limerick Hospitals Group, a key element the new protocol is a telephone referral from the treating paramedic to the receiving doctor, ensuring that the right patient is brought to the MAU.
“This will result in patients receiving medical treatment in a hospital closer to their home, will reduce patient presentations to emergency departments and will release ambulances more quickly to respond to other emergency calls.
“Patients who do not meet these clinical criteria will continue to be transported to emergency departments for assessment and treatment. The MAU in Nenagh Hospital treats patients referred by GPs, ShannonDoc and now National Ambulance Service paramedics.
“It is essential that unwell medical patients do not attend the MAU without a referral. All urgent 112/999 patients will continue to be prioritised at UHL as it is the only hospital in the region that is equipped to treat critically ill patients,” the statement concluded.
