Urgent Care Centre – St. Johns Hospital

The Urgent Care Centre was opened on 23 September 2013. It is a conversion of our A&E Department into a Local Injury Unit and a Medical Assessment Unit. Admission to the hospital can now only be gained on a “scheduled” basis whereby patients must first be either seen and referred by their GP to the Medical Assessment Unit, admitted via the University Hospital Limerick, or directly by our own surgeons and physicians. No medical emergencies or “un-scheduled care” can be admitted directly but instead are re-directed to UHL.

The following tables outline the services provided by our Local Injury Unit and Medical Assessment Unit.

Service	Local Injury Unit
Opening Hours	8.00 a.m. – 7.00 p.m. Monday – Sunday 7 days a week
Contact Person	Secretary
Contact Number	061 462132
Service User(s)	Referred by self	√
Referral criteria	Suspected broken bones	√
	All sprains and strains	√
	Wounds, bites, cuts, grazes and scalp lacerations including minor facial injuries, oral, dental and nasal injuries	√
	Minor scalds and burns	√
	Small abscesses and boils	√
	Splinters and fish hooks	√
	Foreign bodies in eyes/ears/nose	√
	Minor head injury (fully conscious patients) who did NOT experience loss of consciousness or have more than one episode of vomiting after the head injury	√
	ALL CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS OF AGE	x
	Conditions due to medical illness (Chest pain/Respiratory conditions will be seen in the Medical Assessment Unit)	x
	Serious head injuries	x
	Abdominal pain	x
	Gynaecological problems	x
	Neck/back pain	x
	Pregnancy related problems	x
	Pelvis or hip fractures	x
	Injuries due to self-harm	x
	Suspected serious injury or inability to walk following a fall from a height or a motor vehicle collision. Patients with neck pain or back injury that started on the day of injury should attend an ED rather than a Local Injury Unit	x
	Injury causing chest pain, abdominal pain or shortness of breath	x

Hospital Charges

LIU Charge – €75.00

Exemptions to Charges

Patients who have been referred by their GP and have a referral letter
Patients who have medical card
Members of the Defense Forces

Service	Medical Assessment Unit
Opening Hours	8.00 a.m. – 6.00 p.m. Monday – Friday
Contact Person	Secretary
Contact Number	061 462130
Service user(s)	Referred by GP	√
Referral criteria	Patients who are unstable are not suitable for referral for assessment and/or admission to St. John’s. All patients must fall into one of the following clinical categories. Patients not on this list must not be referred to MAU. The specific criteria for each condition are outlined below. Clinical judgement and discretion will remain essential in all cases.
	Uncomplicated TIA	√
	Suspected DVT	√
	Syncope with full recovery/falls	√
	New onset of A Fib or irregular pulse	√
	New onset seizures	√
	Acute confusion (may need discussion with senior decision maker)	√
	Low risk Chest pain (now pain free, no history of ischemic heart disease, existing heart murmurs, normal ECG)	√
	Non Acute Headache	√
	COPD/CCF/Asthma	√
	Diabetic – new onset/uncontrolled (no evidence of diabetic ketoacidosis or diabetic coma)	√
	Persistent chest infection/UTI without sepsis	√
	C2H5OH Detox	√
	Diarrhoea/Vomiting	√
	Loss of independent living	√
	Anaemia	√
	Cellulitis	√
	Dyspnoea of uncertain cause	√
	Uncontrolled hypertension	√
	Other cases may be considered following discussion with the Consultant on call Vital signs must be in the following ranges: Systolic blood pressure >90, <200 Heart rate >40, <120/min Respiratory rate <24/min Pulse oximetry (room air) >90% Temperature >35 Vitals will be taken in conjunction with the clinical picture	√
Categories not suitable for referral	Obstetrics	x
	Haematology	x
	Oncology patients	x
Contact Number Case Manager St. John’s Hospital	061 462303 (8.00 a.m. – 6.00 p.m.)
Contact Number Case Manager Limerick	086 0452882 (8.00 a.m. – 6.00 p.m.)

Hospital Charges

This service is free of charge.

View and/or Print MAU Information Leaflet.

Service

Local Injury Unit

Service

Medical Assessment Unit