An increase of only four patients per day to the a&e unit at Limerick Regional Hospital has been recorded since the closure last month of 24-hour A&E services at Ennis and Nenagh.According to the HSE, an audit of the A&E operation at Limerick constituted “an effective rebuttal of charges that the service would be swamped following the ending of emergency care at Ennis and Nenagh”. The HSE ended 24-hour A&E services at Ennis and Nenagh general hospitals on April 6th, with the emergency departments remaining closed between 8pm and 8am.
The HSE audit found that the A&E service had an additional seven patients per night between 8pm and 8am since April 6th. The figures show that there has been a 17 per cent increase in self- referrals from Clare to Limerick when the A&E at Ennis is open. This is believed to be related to the damning conclusions of a recent Health Information and Quality Authority report on services at Ennis hospital.
