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Trail cabins have been installed outside a busy city hospital to expand the capacity of its emergency department (ED) as part of its preparations for the Covid-19 winter.
The sturdy structures outside the Mercy University Hospital (MUH) in Cork replace the temporary tents that were erected by the Defense Forces during the closure to help facilitate social distancing requirements in the Emergency Department.
The 7.3 mx 6.3 m multi-purpose tactical tents that were erected in late March and early April by members of the Army Corps of Engineers as part of Operation Fortress were similar to the tents used by the army on missions abroad in Chad and Liberia. Accommodation and first aid units.
The new cabins, which have been installed on concrete baseboards at Grenville Place, will provide an additional 200 square meters of accommodation and will be operational by mid-October, hospital management confirmed yesterday.
“This development is expected to improve the patient experience in the emergency department and assist the hospital with its Covid-19 response during the winter period,” a spokesperson said.
The structures were delivered to the site last Friday night and Saturday morning, continuing the refurbishment works.
“This accommodation will offer additional clinical capacity for the emergency department by providing additional waiting areas, triage rooms and evaluation / treatment cubicles. These structures will be operational in mid-October, ”the hospital said.
Delivery and installation of the new structures required the temporary closure of Grenville Place for several hours over the weekend, and a traffic management plan was implemented.
The ED remained open and pedestrian access to the facility was maintained along the detour route at all times.
The hospital thanked everyone involved in the project, including Vision Contracting, Portable Building, HSE, the National Ambulance Service, Cork City Council, An Garda Síochána, the Cork City Fire Brigade and the ESB.
Earlier this week, the hospital implemented its escalation policy following an increase in visits to its emergency department.
The hospital emphasized that the clinical needs of all patients in the emergency department were being attended to and that the facility remains open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
However, he appealed to the public in need of less urgent medical treatment to resort, as far as possible, to other care services.
“Patients with less urgent complaints are encouraged to contact their GP or South Doc in the first instance, or use the services of the Mercy Local Injury Unit at St Mary’s Health Campus , Gurranabraher, “the spokesman said.
“The public is reminded that South Doc is an option for those seeking medical care after hours, while the local Mercy Injury Unit, St Mary’s Health Campus, Gurranabraher is open from 8 am to 6 pm, the local unit of injuries at Bantry General Hospital operates between 8 am and 7:30 pm, and the local injury unit at Mallow General Hospital is open from 8 am to 8 pm ”.
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