The UL Hospitals Group has confirmed that a 17-bed ward at the region’s main hospital is to close at the end of this month.
The INMO has condemned the decision to shut the short stay unit, which is located in the old emergency department at Dooradoyle.
But management says it’s being offset with the opening of a number of other beds, as Clare FM’s James Mulhall reports.
Ward 1A at University Hospital Limerick – a short stay unit containing 17 funded medical beds – is to close at the end of March.
The UL Hospitals Group says this closure is to facilitate the completion of works on the new fracture unit at the facility, in accordance with their overall plans for the old emergency department, where it’s located.
The ward was opened on a temporary basis once the new ED was operational almost two years ago.
The INMO has condemned the move, pointing to the fact that UHL is consistently the most overcrowded facility nationally, with a near-record number of 76 on trolleys yesterday alone.
But the UL Hospitals Group says the planned closure of the 17 beds is offset by the opening of a number of new beds including the 12-bed surgical short stay unit, which opened last month and three additional cardiology beds opened last week.
Management at UHL have also confirmed they are happy to meet with the INMO in respect of the concerns raised.
