SCHEDULED ACTIVITY ACROSS UL Hospitals Group sites, which includes University Hospital Limerick, have been deferred due to the “exceptionally high number of unwell patients”.

Hospitals within the UL Hospitals Group include: University Hospital Limerick (UHL); University Maternity Hospital Limerick; Croom Orthopaedic Hospital; Ennis Hospital; Nenagh Hospital; and St John’s Hospital.

In a statement, UL Hospitals Group said UHL is currently experiencing high demand.

According to yesterday’s Trolley Watch figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, there were 143 people awaiting a bed in UHL yesterday.

A spokesperson for the UL Hospitals Group added that the ED in UHL has seen its highest week of emergency presentations since the beginning of the year – 1,716 to 8am yesterday morning, a daily average of 245 patients.

It noted that UHL is currently at the “highest state of escalation” and surged capacity has been opened across UL Hospitals Group sites.

As a result, scheduled activity across all sites has been deferred today and will “remain under review”.

Only urgent and time-critical patients, including cancer patients, will go ahead today.

The Emergency Departments will remain open 24/7 but anyone who arrives without a “life-threatening or severe illness or injury” have been cautioned to expect a “significant wait”.

UL Hospitals Group has appealed to the public to consider all other care options before presenting at the ED and to contact your GP or pharmacist for less serious conditions.

The Injury Units at Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s Hospitals also remain open for breaks, burns and other minor injuries.

A spokesperson for UL Hospitals Group apologised to those who have faced long waits for admission to UHL in recent days, and to those impacted by deferrals of surgery.