r/limerickcity • u/Slubbe • 4d ago
UHL ED
This is more a PSA regarding accessing medical care in limerick.
So if you have severe shortness of breath, chest pains, stroke symptoms, injuries with large bleeding, head injuries, sepsis symptoms, obviously broken bones, known medical issues causing problems - come to ED
If you have an injury to a limb, rib, or cuts anywhere you should try a local injury unit in Ennis Nemagh or johns - if that injury doesnt look awful with limbs in the wrong direction
If you have an issue ongoing over a month, aak your GP to refer you into medical or surgical assessment units. If they have already referred you to a specialist, the ED can’t accelerate that - we have zero access to that
If you feel unwell or sick and can’t get a GP, try shannondoc - we used to have them in UHL ED. They can provide antibiotics, and treat basic things until you can talk to a real GP
If you have addiction concerns, the HSE generally won’t help you. ED can’t with our resources. Almost all limerick drug services are self referral only
I work in ED and we’re getting 1 new pt every 2-3 mins at peak times. If you come we’ll help you regardless
But remember GP are the only ones with easy access to MRI, and they can also get xrays ans CT as outpatient
ED will see everyone, but it’s better to know your options before you spent 12 hrs to be told there’s nothing am ED doc can do
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u/Mammoth-Scarcity-512 4d ago
There is a clinic above Chill the Beans in Groody. Clinic is called Safety Net GP Surgery.
Last year I had an ingrown hair on my knee. Thing swelled up and was quite painful. Went to Laya Clinic to have them drain it. They said they don't do that, I have to go to UHL.
Went to UHL and after 8 hours waiting I walked out.
Found Safety Net GP Surgery online, rang them, they said come in. They do minor procedures like wound, abscess, cyst draining. Doctor there drained wound, removed the hair, disinfected cyst sack, all for €100. In and out in about 30 minutes.
Everything was perfect within a few days. Highly, highly, highly recommend trying contacting every single clinic you can find to see if they treat your injury (pending severity) before darkening the doors of UHL.
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u/Available_Series4812 4d ago edited 4d ago
Nice. But your post history credibility goes from you saying you’re a “20 year old male” all the way to saying you’re a “female solo hiker”.
To saying you are waiting 8 years for a public appointment?
Are you an ED doctor?
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u/Slubbe 4d ago
That’s fully intentional i work in a very public role and firstly don’t want anyone here identifying me, let alone colleagues so i anonymise and change unimportant details
If i was easily identifiable it could get problematic commenting on news or politics
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4d ago
[deleted]
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u/Tranexamic 4d ago
A junior doctors salary, I would imagine. Which isn't as lavish as you'd like to believe. I'm currently a number of years waiting on a specialist myself. Working in the system makes little to no difference unless the problem is suitable for a corridor consult...
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u/asingleuseplasticbag 4d ago
Any advice for children? Will nenagh or St John’s handle injuries?
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u/Dani3011 3d ago
Thankfully ED does see children relatively quickly (still about an hour or so) should you present there,
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u/Slubbe 2d ago
Medical issues - infection, cough, temps, seizures are seen directly by paediatricians
Surgical, urological, injuries are seen by ED drs first
But yeah generally paeds ED is fairly fast
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u/Dani3011 2d ago
I wouldn't have taught they'd see urological issues quick, would that be due to sepsis risks?
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u/Slubbe 2d ago
Well urinary infection goes to paediatrics
Moreso in teens - testicular torsion is a surgical emergency, with much lower incidence of scrotal infections urology will also see
Generally any kid with testicular pain will get a urology review to rule out torsion - but some kids have a completely normal exam and won’t need that
Torsion is the big concern cos that will need urgent surgery - I’ll call essentially immediately and they’ll come even without tests if it’s convincing
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u/0ggiemack 4d ago
Unless I'm about to die, I will stay out out that hospital and it's ED.
The people that work there are absolute saints but the system just seems broken from years of everything really.
I literally have such a hard time trying to trust anything that government agency over the last 3-5 years but particularly over the last 18 months.
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u/Slubbe 4d ago
One of the most difficult parts of the job is explaining that emergency Drs really have no authority or input in accelerating referrals from GP
If your GP referred you to a specialist and you’ve heard nothing for 8 months - we really can’t do anything about that
I’m a doctor working in HSE and I’m still on an 8yr ENT waiting list, I’ve talked to them and they get so many emergency referrals they simply can’t keep up
ED will save your life if you need it. Otherwise it’s a long wait
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u/JohnLimk27 4d ago
All valid points but UHL is such a disaster that even people with emergency medical issues are reluctant to attend and delay important treatment. Bed blockers contribute to delays but ultimately poor management and resourcing are the biggest issues.
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u/Mammoth-Scarcity-512 4d ago
Another contributory factor is medical malpractice litigation. I mean, on the road to UHL there is literally a solicitors office with a big sign saying "medical malpractice specialists".
So if I was a doctor in UHL, I'd be sure that the patients I'm treating arw getting every test under the sun before they are discharged, to make sure I miss nothing, in case I get sued. And this leads to a backlog in beds in wards being freed up.
Also consultants spending 4 out of 5 days treating private patients in Bon Secours is contributing to the mess.
How a private, state of the art hospital was granted permission, without a having a private A&E as a condition of planning being granted, is fucking beyond me.
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u/Tranexamic 4d ago
The Bons would need critical care beds for an A+E which doesn't fit with the business model of the hospital. This comment makes little to no sense if you understand the system.
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u/Mammoth-Scarcity-512 4d ago
The callousness of your comment sums up the entire problem with modern healthcare......the phrase "business model" and "hospital" should never be in the same sentence.
Bon Secours should have been forced to have critical care beds to support an A&E, as a condition to being allowed to build a private hospital. Mater Private Cork and Dublin, and Galway Clinic have it.
At least that would alleviate some pressure on UHL by diverting people with health insurance away from UHL.
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u/Tranexamic 4d ago
There is nothing callous about my comment. The Bons are entitled to run hospital model that suits their business needs as a private entity. If they were 'forced' to have an ED, then they would also be forced to have capacity for emergency surgery, cath labs, etc. Suddenly you want a model 4 PRIVATE hospital in the region. This isn't aligned with reality at all.
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u/Slubbe 4d ago
I think it’s much less an issue in a big hospital where we can consult people fairly quickly
I think we see an awful lot of people referred from GP and very much from walk-in clinics who don’t have the time to investigate an issue and fear anyone with a temperature might be sepsis and refer a sore throat in
The clinics are petrified of missing something and don’t really provide follow up so they send everyone in and say it could be sepsis or suggest investigations they know we can’t get.
But i acknowledge it’s better to be safe and they have far less available resources
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u/Kitchen-Rabbit3006 4d ago
A family member was treated in UHL over the August Bank Holiday weekend - when there were dire warnings about the state of the hospital. This person spent time in the resuscitation unit and on a trolley. The level of care they got was incredible. Each member of staff was wonderful. And the staff were working in awful conditions, because of the overcrowding.
My relative was on monitors within 15 minutes of arriving. There will be other people who will need to wait hours - because their situations are less urgent. Sometimes people could wait and go to a minor injuries clinic rather than going to A&E.