Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Gallagher for raising the matter of the minor injuries unit at Monaghan Hospital and I welcome the opportunity to update the House on this important service. The minor injuries unit at Monaghan Hospital plays a vital role in providing valuable services to the local community and helping to alleviate pressures on our emergency departments. There are a total of 12 HSE minor injuries units under the governance of HSE acute operations, all operating on a seven day per week basis. This includes the injuries unit service located at Monaghan Hospital which has been open seven days per week since July 2023. It is open to adults for children aged five and older.

The National Ambulance Service has established a medical assessment unit pathway to allow patient referrals by National Ambulance Service paramedics to each of the existing seven model 2 hospital-based medical assessment units.Prior to the development of this pathway only patients referred by GPs or GP out-of-hours services were accepted. Following a successful trial at Wexford General Hospital, the NAS clinical director and the national clinical lead for the acute medicine programme are currently in discussions concerning the feasibility of extending this pathway, which is currently confined to model 2 hospitals and model 3 hospitals including Cavan and Monaghan hospital. This programme ran successfully at Roscommon University Hospital where it was agreed that some patients be transferred directly to Roscommon hospital injury unit if they meet strict criteria. Under this new agreement, the National Ambulance Service paramedics will also transfer patients with minor injuries to the unit.

The pathway will result in patients receiving medical treatment in a hospital closer to their home and will release ambulances more quickly to respond to other emergency calls; 112/999 patients who do not meet these clinical criteria will continue to be transported to emergency departments for assessment and treatment.

Monaghan hospital operates as a single hospital with Cavan General Hospital. Together they share an integrated managerial and clinical governance system, as well as integrated patient care pathways and support functions. The emergency department is located at Cavan General Hospital and provides 24-hour emergency critical care to adults and children, while facilities at Monaghan hospital focus on elective care and the appropriate streaming of patients to the minor injury unit.

Over the past ten years, this injury unit has treated thousands of patients each year, with more than 4,200 attendances in 2020, and nearly 5,400 in 2021. Investment in the minor injury unit in recent years led to the expansion of opening hours in November 2022 and again in July 2023, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week. This Government is committed to the ongoing development of facilities at injury units across the country.