So-called 'injury units' across Midwest counties treated more than 50,000 people last year — one in three emergency patients locally. Injury units at Nenagh, Ennis, and St John’s hospitals offer an alternative to the emergency department for minor injuries. “More than one in three of all unscheduled care patients attending HSE acute hospitals across the region are seen in one of our injury units,” HSE Midwest said. The injury units are heavily used and operating at scale, diverting one in three urgent care contacts and doing exactly what they were designed to do. Dr Joe Kelly, consultant in emergency medicine at University Hospital Limerick and St John’s Hospital Injury Unit.

Source: Irish Examiner January 28, 2026 14:30 UTC