Roscommon Injury Unit deemed ‘one of the best’ in country

The Roscommon Injury Unit is one of the best in the country, a HSE West Regional Health Forum heard recently.

During a discussion on the need for an injury unit in Sligo, councillors were told that there were no plans to develop such a facility.

Regional executive officer for the west and north west Tony Canavan said that the injury units have proven to be “particularly successful”.

“I think one of the best examples across the country is in Roscommon. Last year it saw over 19,000 attendances, up by about 3,000 on the previous year,” he said.

He pointed out that the unit’s attendance figures since it was established in 2012 had increased on a yearly basis.

“It has been very successful for the patients that attend it. The length of time that they would wait to be seen would be significantly less than in a full emergency department,” Mr Canavan said.

He added that increasing the number of injury units was something that the HSE was interested in.

“We will hopefully be opening one in Mayo later on this spring or in the early summer,” he said, referring to a project in Ballina. “And we will certainly keep an open mind for the rest of the region.”

He highlighted that attendance at any of the HSE’s injury units was not restricted to people from the unit’s location. At the forum, the HSE said that a triage process is in place seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Sligo University Hospital’s emergency department. 

This, the HSE said, ensures that patients meeting specific criteria are promptly seen by a doctor or advanced nurse practitioner.

“In addition to this, a deferred care service is available during very busy times where patients are given a choice to return the following day to see the clinician at a specific time,” the HSE noted.