€28m emergency department faces surge in patients

A €28m emergency department set to open at University Hospital Limerick on Monday already faces a huge increase in patient numbers.

The hospital’s ED, the busiest in the country, has been condemned as unsafe for patients and staff. Last year it cared for 65,000 patients.

Year-on-year figures have been rising by about 5%, but ED consultant Cormac Mehigan said experience from other countries shows that when a new ED opens, it will draw an additional 10% in patient numbers on top of the usual increment: “Just like any other new facility, people will want to come.”