People arriving at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) without a GP referral letter is putting a “particular strain” on their services.

That’s according to the HSE’s Chief Medical Officer who is urging people across the country to “consider all care options” before arriving at Emergency Departments (EDs) across the country this bank holiday weekend.

Dr Colm Henry was speaking after the Irish Independent reported today that GPs had been dispatched to screen patients arriving at the UHL ED to treat them if they have a ‘low level’ medical condition.

Dr Colm Henry, Chief Clinical Officer, HSE at Dr Steevens’ Hospital for the weekly HSE operational update on the response to Covid-19. Photograph: Leah Farrell / Photocall Ireland

He told Newstalk that the extra support is to be welcomed at UHL.

“Any enhancement of the cover of the expertise, be it at the level of triage or assessing patients, is to be welcomed,” said the CMO.

“We see variation in the report of people who do and do not see GPs before they go to emergency departments, but UHL has one of the highest proportions of patients who haven’t seen a GP before going to an ED.

“It does place a particular strain on the ED's ability to provide safe and sustainable services.”

A UHL spokesperson has said 50% of patients arriving at their ED do not have GP referral letters.

Other care options

Dr Henry noted that EDs in Cork and Tallaght were also under particular strain and said people across the State should consider other care options this bank holiday weekend.

“If people have emergency issues that need attention, they can go to EDs and be referred there by doctors, and they can of course also call 999,” he said.

“But for those whose conditions do not require emergency care, we’d ask you to consider all other places you can receive appropriate care.

“That includes GPs, GP out-of-hours services, and minor injury units, which we have 13 of across the state and they deal with broken bones, sprains, minor facial injuries, scalds, and wounds.

“We’d ask people to consider, given how busy our EDs are, to confine visits there for truly urgent or emergency care and to consider all the other types of care they can get beforehand.”

Dr Henry added that the numbers presenting themselves to EDs in Ireland at the moment are up 18% on this time last year.

Reporting by Tom Douglas.

Main image: General views of University Hospital Limerick in December 2020. Picture by: PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo