The Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick (also known as Limerick Regional Hospital" or "University Hospital Limerick) is a public hospital located in Dooradoyle

Dooradoyle

Dooradoyle is a suburb of Limerick city which is in County Limerick, Ireland built after the 1960s which remain in the Limerick County Council administrative area. Dooradoyle is in the Parish of St Paul, in the Diocese of Limerick...

, County Limerick

County Limerick

It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...

, Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. It is managed by the Irish Government's Health Service Executive

Health Service Executive

The Health Service Executive is responsible for the provision of healthcare providing health and personal social services for everyone living in Ireland, with public funds. The Executive was established by the Health Act, 2004 and came into official operation on January 1, 2005...

 and provides acute-care hospital services, including a 24-hour emergency department

Emergency department

An emergency department , also known as accident & emergency , emergency room , emergency ward , or casualty department is a medical treatment facility specialising in acute care of patients who present without prior appointment, either by their own means or by ambulance...

, for the population of County Limerick, County Clare

County Clare

-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...

, and County Tipperary

County Tipperary

County Tipperary is a county of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster and is named after the town of Tipperary. The area of the county does not have a single local authority; local government is split between two authorities. In North Tipperary, part of the Mid-West Region, local...

. In 2008, the hospital served 120,316 out-patients, and 23,014 in-patients, with an average stay of 5.8 nights. 72.8% of admissions were made via the accident and emergency department

Emergency department

An emergency department , also known as accident & emergency , emergency room , emergency ward , or casualty department is a medical treatment facility specialising in acute care of patients who present without prior appointment, either by their own means or by ambulance...

 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. In July 2011, it was reported that the hospital would undergo its third name change in five years to become University Hospital Limerick.

Services

The hospital provides 522 beds, of which 375 are in-patient acute beds, while 97 are reserved for acute day cases. A further 50 beds are for psychiatric services. In-patient services include general medicine

Medicine

Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....

, general surgery

Surgery

Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...

, geriatric assessment

Geriatrics

Geriatrics is a sub-specialty of internal medicine and family medicine that focuses on health care of elderly people. It aims to promote health by preventing and treating diseases and disabilities in older adults. There is no set age at which patients may be under the care of a geriatrician, or...

, psychiatry

Psychiatry

Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...

, accident and emergency, intensive care/critical care, cardiology

Cardiology

Cardiology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the heart . The field includes diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology...

, dermatology

Dermatology

Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin and its diseases, a unique specialty with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist takes care of diseases, in the widest sense, and some cosmetic problems of the skin, scalp, hair, and nails....

, gastroenterology

Gastroenterology

Gastroenterology is the branch of medicine whereby the digestive system and its disorders are studied. The name is a combination of three Ancient Greek words gaster , enteron , and logos...

, haematology, nephrology

Nephrology

Nephrology is a branch of internal medicine and pediatrics dealing with the study of the function and diseases of the kidney.-Scope of the specialty:...

, neurology

Neurology

Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...

, oncology

Oncology

Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...

, palliative medicine, respiratory medicine

Respiratory Medicine

The Respiratory Medicine journal is published by Elsevier Science. Its subjects are internal medicine and practice of medicine.Its ISSN is 0954-6111. Its impact factor in 2004 was 2,086....

, rheumatology

Rheumatology

Rheumatology is a sub-specialty in internal medicine and pediatrics, devoted to diagnosis and therapy of rheumatic diseases. Clinicians who specialize in rheumatology are called rheumatologists...

, dental surgery

Dental surgery

Dental surgery is any of a number of medical procedures that involve artificially modifying dentition, in other words surgery of the teeth and jaw bones.-Types:Some of the more common are:...

, gastrointestinal surgery, maxillofacial surgery, ophthalmology

Ophthalmology

Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye. An ophthalmologist is a specialist in medical and surgical eye problems...

, orthopaedics, otorhinolaryngology (ENT), vascular surgery

Vascular surgery

Vascular surgery is a specialty of surgery in which diseases of the vascular system, or arteries and veins, are managed by medical therapy, minimally-invasive catheter procedures, and surgical reconstruction. The specialty evolved from general and cardiac surgery...

, urology

Urology

Urology is the medical and surgical specialty that focuses on the urinary tracts of males and females, and on the reproductive system of males. Medical professionals specializing in the field of urology are called urologists and are trained to diagnose, treat, and manage patients with urological...

, obstetrics and gynaecology

Obstetrics and gynaecology

Obstetrics and gynaecology are the two surgical–medical specialties dealing with the female reproductive organs in their pregnant and non-pregnant state, respectively, and as such are often combined to form a single medical specialty and postgraduate training programme...

, paediatrics, anaesthesia, radiology

Radiology

Radiology is a medical specialty that employs the use of imaging to both diagnose and treat disease visualized within the human body. Radiologists use an array of imaging technologies to diagnose or treat diseases...

, and radiotherapy.

It is the location of the Mid-Western Cancer Centre.

Waiting times

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. As of November 2009, the National Treatment Purchase Fund listed the following waiting times for procedures:

Surgical

• adult patients waiting 3–6 months: 221
• adult patients waiting 6–12 months: 264
• adult patients waiting over 12 months: 50
• child patients waiting 3–6 months: 49
• child surgical patients waiting 6–12 months: 41
• child surgical patients waiting over 12 months: 4

Medical

• adult patients waiting 3–6 months: 54
• adult patients waiting 6–12 months: 8
• adult patients waiting over 12 months: 1
• child patients waiting 3–6 months: 1
• child patients waiting 6–12 months: 0
• child patients waiting over 12 months: 0

Hygiene

Independent audits rated hygiene levels as 65% satisfactory in 2005, rising to 85% in 2006. Hospital-acquired infection

Nosocomial infection

A nosocomial infection , also known as a hospital-acquired infection or HAI, is an infection whose development is favoured by a hospital environment, such as one acquired by a patient during a hospital visit or one developing among hospital staff...

 affected 5.1% of patients in 2007, with a Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. It is also called multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus...

 (MRSA) infection rate of 0.14 per 1,000 bed days in 2008.

Nenagh hospital downgrading controversy

In 2009, Government plans to move certain services from Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Nenagh

Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Nenagh

The Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Nenagh is a public hospital located in Nenagh, County Tipperary, Ireland. It is managed by the Irish Government's Health Service Executive and provides acute hospital services, including a 24-hour emergency department, for the population of County Tipperary...

to Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick, were met with protests from healthcare professionals and local residents, including a 4,000-person public demonstration. While there would still be 24-hour access for patients referred by GPs, all surgical emergencies would be dealt with in Limerick. The changes would mean an estimated 10 extra admissions per night at the Limerick emergency department.