LATEST: Campaigners welcome Nenagh Hospital announcement but call for more resources

The Nenagh Needs its A&E group have welcomed the expansion of the MAU pathway to Nenagh Hospital. 

But they say the hospital may need more resources. 

Speaking on behalf of the group Damian O’Donoghue told Tipperarylive: . 

“Nenagh Needs its A&E welcomes the use of the MAU in Nenagh Hospital. It’s very important that it is resourced properly so as many people as possible can benefit from it. 

“We hope that ambulances going to Nenagh Hospital again will improve the overcrowding in Limerick. 

“It is a step in the right direction,” said Mr O’Donoghue.

 Sinn Féin TD Martin Browne welcomed the announcement on Tuesday.

He too said the development was a step in the right direction. 

But, he said he was concerned about resources at the hospital.

“What I now want is clarity on what resources and finances will be made available to Nenagh Hospital to enable this system to work as effectively as possible and to ensure that staff at Nenagh are assisted in dealing with the additional demand this will result in,” said Mr Browne.

 The deputy also said it may not be enough to ease the pressure on UHL. 

“More needs to be done to address the crisis facing patients in the mid-west following, from what 87 consultants recently described as the poorly resourced reconfiguration of hospital services in the region back in 2009.

“Putting Nenagh, Ennis and St Johns to more use for the people of north Tipperary and the mid-west is essential. 

“This latest announcement, while welcome, is just a step in the right direction, which must be adequately resourced to fully realise its potential.”

RESOURCES

Tipperarylive asked UHL if extra resources were being given to Nenagh Hospital to support the expansion of the initiative.

UHL said the number of slots at the Medical Assessment Unit would remain the same, but there would be an increase in nursing hours. 

They added:  

“The number of attendances at Nenagh MAU increased from 1,338 in 2021 to 2,476 last year, and this was supported through the recruitment of additional staff, including NCHDs. 

“We plan to continue to grow the MAU service in Nenagh, and this will require additional staffing resources.” 

Additionally, they said, the units in Nenagh and St Johns have temporarily become seven-day services. 

“We are grateful to the staff at Nenagh and St John’s who have shown enormous dedication in extending their hours of service in recent weeks,” said the spokesperson for UHL.

TODAY’S ANNOUNCEMENT

It was announced earlier that the Medical Assessment Unit at Nenagh Hospital can now accept some patients by ambulance. 

The expansion of the MAU pathway to include Nenagh commenced on Tuesday. 

For a patient to bypass UHL, the  paramedic must call ahead and refer them to the attending MAU doctor. 

BREAKING: Nenagh Hospital medical assessment pathway for emergency patients has opened

Those with more serious conditions will go to UHL as normal. 

Last month the new pathway was opened to the Medical Assessment Unit in Ennis. This week, UHL told the Tipperary Star:

 “We are pleased with the progress of this initiative in Ennis to date, and an evaluation of the new pathway involving our MAU physicians and partners in the National Ambulance Service (NAS) has been completed.”