Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Injury Units are to provide unscheduled emergency care to patients with non-life-threatening or limb-threatening injuries outside of the emergency department of the acute hospital facility. Injury Units are not intended to treat complex medical conditions, pregnancy-related or gynaecological problems, injuries to the chest, abdomen or pelvis, and serious head and spine injuries.

There are currently 15 Injury Units in operation nationally, including:

• 11 delivered from HSE model 2 hospitals or off-site from model 3 or 4 acute hospital settings,
• 3 delivered through private arrangements at Mullingar, Naas and Southside Cork City, and
• 1 community delivered service at Cashel, currently transitioning to acute governance.

In 2023, a National Injury Unit Review was undertaken by a HSE Working Group who examined existing Injury Units and made a series of recommendations to improve services, including:

• to expand geographical coverage and prioritise locations for the provisions of Injury units;
• to expand all existing acute hospital governed Injury Units to operate from 8am to 8pm.

The objective of the Injury Unit expansion programme is to provide more equitable access to Injury Units, to avoid longer waiting times in Emergency Departments, and reduce unnecessary Emergency Department attendances for lower acuity patients. Expansion of Injury Units will be underpinned by a safe model of care as recommended by the Emergency Medicine Programme. The criteria for this prioritisation include population, existing Injury Unit locations, and gaps in geographical coverage.

The Programme for Government commitments on Urgent and Emergency Care include expansion of Injury Units, and this is being progressed across priority sites. The HSE undertook a study to inform regional and national decisions on the establishment of new Injury Unit services across Ireland by assessing the geospatial and population implications of site options under consideration. Locations for six additional Injury Units have been agreed, including Injury Units in Athlone, Tallaght, Carlow, Killarney, Ballina and Letterkenny. The Injury Units in Athlone and Carlow are expected to open in Q4 of 2025.