BREAKING: Visiting restrictions at Nenagh Hospital due to Covid surge

Visiting restrictions have been put in place on the inpatient wards at Nenagh Hospital due to the increased level of Covid-related activity within the hospital and in the community at present.

"We regret the inconvenience these access restrictions cause for inpatients. The decision has been taken to help keep all our patients, their loved ones, and our staff safe, and to ensure essential hospital services can remain open for patients.," a spokesperson for University Hospital Limerick Group said in a statement.

The situation is being monitored on a daily basis, and hospital management hopes to reintroduce visiting to relatives of inpatients as soon as it is safe to do so, they said.

The spokesperson said that they wished to reassure patients and their loved ones that all appropriate infection control precautions are being followed to minimise the risk of spreading infection among staff and patients within our health facilities, and also within the wider community. All other services in the hospital continue to operate as normal.

The only exceptions to the visiting restrictions on both wards are:

- People assisting confused patients (e.g. dementia) (on a case-by-case basis)

- People visiting patients who are critically unwell or at end of life (on a case-by-case basis)

These exemptions are limited to one person per patient only.