“Multiple outbreaks” of Covid-19 at University Hospital Limerick and Ennis Hospital have resulted in cancellations of “all routine outpatient appointments and the majority of elective procedures” on Thursday and Friday.
The UL Hospitals Group chief executive, Colette Cowan, who oversees both hospitals as well as several others, said the group was trying to manage “a complex situation involving multiple outbreaks” of coronavirus.
Ms Cowan said it was “vital” that any patient requiring emergency care attend UHL’s 24-hour emergency department, which remains open.
She said she regretted the impact on patients, but that the announced measures were “necessary in the interests of patient and staff safety”.
A spokesman for the group said it would not be releasing information on the numbers of positive cases at both hospitals.
He said “significant numbers of staff are currently off work and self-isolating having either tested positive for Covid-19 or been designated as close contact”.
The latest HSE statistics show there were 36 confirmed positive cases of the virus among inpatients at University Hospital Limerick as of 8pm on Tuesday night.
There were 26 confirmed cases of the virus when an outbreak was declared on a medical ward at the Limerick hospital on November 2nd.
The group’s clinical director, Prof Brian Lenehan, said “the volume of staff currently self-isolating having come into contact with Covid-19 is now such that we are curtailing scheduled care to concentrate resources on emergency presentations and on inpatients”.
He added: “This will also serve to reduce footfall in our hospitals in the coming days”.
The spokesman for the hospitals said “separate Covid and non-Covid pathways are in place to keep patients safe”.
“Outbreak control teams established in both locations are working closely with public health and occupational health colleagues and all the relevant HPSC guidance is being followed as we work to contain the virus and to protect patients and staff,” he said.
“Contact tracing and testing of staff and patients is continuing and we are putting into effect all the appropriate infection control measures to mitigate the risk.”
'Staffing challenges'
Both hospitals are experiencing “considerable staffing challenges” due to the ongoing crisis situation, the spokesman added.
Around 50 patients had their procedures cancelled on Wednesday.
The group’s crisis management team took the “difficult decision to cancel most scheduled care at UHL and Ennis for the remainder of this week”, added the spokesman.
The situation is being kept “under continuous review”, he said.
The group’s other hospitals – St John’s Hospital in Limerick, Nenagh Hospital in Tipperary, University Maternity Hospital Limerick and Croom Orthopaedic Hospital – will “continue to operate as normal”.
The spokesman said patients who have “any symptoms of Covid-19” should “not attend the hospital or any healthcare facility” and “phone their GP for advice”.
