New injury unit officially opens in Clare hospital

A NEW two million euro injury unit at Ennis Hospital has officially opened becoming one of the Mid-West’s principal centres for treatment of minor injuries.

The new injury unit was officially opened by Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly.

The visit by the Minister comes at a time when more people than ever before are attending the Injury Unit in Ennis--and its sister facilities in Nenagh and St John’s Hospitals--for treatment of sprains, breaks, burns and other non-life-threatening injuries and ailments.

In 2023 up to June 14, there has been a total of 5,831 attendances at Ennis Hospital Injury Unit, and in 2022 there were a record 11,854 new attendances at the facility, where patients can access treatment for minor injuries without a GP referral, seven days a week, including bank holidays.

“Local injury units such as this new facility here in Ennis enable us to provide high quality, timely care for people with non-emergency injuries and in many cases this care can be provided closer to the patients’ homes. As such these Units embody the Sláintecare principles of ‘right care, right time, right place’, and help ensure that patients who require true emergency care are managed safely in a larger hospital environment,” Minister Donnelly said.

“This injury unit, along with similar Units in Nenagh and St John’s, is a valuable addition to the range of services provided within the wider UL Hospital Group and demonstrates our ambition to develop, improve and deliver the very best health care for people in the Mid-West region,” he added.

Welcoming Minister Donnelly to Ennis Hospital, the CEO of UL Hospitals Group, Prof Colette Cowan, said: “We are delighted that Minister Donnelly has come to Ennis to open our injury unit and see the excellent work that our healthcare teams our doing to ensure those who need access to less acute medical care are getting it, efficiently, and in an appropriate clinical setting.

“Patient experience times in this Injury Unit are averaging about 80 minutes. This is a tribute to the expertise and efficiency of our staff, which we know from service user feedback is greatly appreciated by our patients,” she added.