New service to reduce Limerick emergency wait times

THE LAUNCH of a new service to reduce emergency department (ED) wait times has been announced. 

The new Mid-West service will see 999 or 112 calls, where appropriate, being directed to members of the community in order to elevate the amount of ambulances bringing patients to the University Hospital Limerick (UHL) ED.

This new service, called the Alternative Pre-Hospital Pathway (APP), is part of a collaboration between UL Hospitals Group and the National Ambulance Service (NAS).

The service commenced in Limerick on September 11 and is now operating from 10am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.

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Those responding to 999/112 calls are specialist emergency doctors and NAS personnel within local communities, who are equipped with responding to low-acuity ambulance calls.

The APP team responds in a NAS vehicle to appropriate calls within a 45-minute radius of the ambulance centre in Limerick city.

Niall Murray, General Manager of Area Operations, NAS said: “Increasing demand for emergency care and an ageing population is necessitating a re-design of traditional models of emergency care delivery and the Alternative Pre-Hospital Pathway Team is one such response.”

The ED at UHL receives more emergency ambulances than any other hospital in the country. 

Where the APP team is the nearest available resource, they may also be dispatched to care for or assist pre-hospital colleagues in caring for critically unwell patients in the community.

Commenting on the introduction of the service, Dr Damien Ryan, Consultant in Emergency Medicine, and aClinical Director in UL Hospitals Group, said:  “This service will potentially obviate the need for patients to come to hospital, and, advice can be provided regarding the most suitable options for further care in the community, and in some circumstances, care can be provided directly at the scene.”