| Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick | |
| Health Service Executive | |
|---|---|
| Geography | |
| Location | Dooradoyle, Limerick, County Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | HSE |
| Hospital type | Regional |
| Services | |
| Emergency department | Yes Accident & Emergency |
| Beds | 522 |
| Links | |
| Lists | Hospitals in the Republic of Ireland |
The Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick (also known as Limerick Regional Hospital" or "University Hospital Limerick) is a public[1] hospital located in Dooradoyle, County Limerick, Ireland.[2] It is managed by the Irish Government's Health Service Executive and provides acute-care hospital services, including a 24-hour emergency department,[2] for the population of County Limerick, County Clare, and County Tipperary. In 2008, the hospital served 120,316 out-patients, and 23,014 in-patients, with an average stay of 5.8 nights.[2] 72.8% of admissions were made via the accident and emergency department or 16,720 patients. In total, 56,528 patients presented to the emergency department in 2008. The hospital saw 20,143 day cases in the same year.[2] In July 2011, it was reported that the hospital would undergo its third name change in five years to become University Hospital Limerick.[3]
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The hospital provides 522 beds, of which 375 are in-patient acute beds, while 97 are reserved for acute day cases.[2] A further 50 beds are for psychiatric services. In-patient services include general medicine, general surgery, geriatric assessment, psychiatry, accident and emergency, intensive care/critical care, cardiology, dermatology, gastroenterology, haematology, nephrology, neurology, oncology, palliative medicine, respiratory medicine, rheumatology, dental surgery, gastrointestinal surgery, maxillofacial surgery, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, otorhinolaryngology (ENT), vascular surgery, urology, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, anaesthesia, radiology, and radiotherapy.[2][4]
It is the location of the Mid-Western Cancer Centre.[5]
The national median waiting time for surgery in November 2009 stood at 2.5 months; at Limerick Regional this figure was 2.7 months. Overall waiting time was 2.3 months, just below the national median of 2.4 months.[6] As of November 2009,[6] the National Treatment Purchase Fund listed the following waiting times for procedures:
Independent audits rated hygiene levels as 65% satisfactory in 2005,[7] rising to 85% in 2006.[8] Hospital-acquired infection affected 5.1% of patients in 2007, with a Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection rate of 0.14 per 1,000 bed days in 2008.[2]
In 2009, Government plans to move certain services from Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Nenagh to Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick, were met with protests from healthcare professionals and local residents, including a 4,000-person public demonstration.[9][10][11] While there would still be 24-hour access for patients referred by GPs, all surgical emergencies would be dealt with in Limerick.[12] The changes would mean an estimated 10 extra admissions per night at the Limerick emergency department.[13]