The number of people attending the Minor Injuries Unit in Monaghan Hospital have doubled since January. A total of 8,895 people has been assessed in the MIU from January until the end of October this year.
And, since the MIU extended its hours from 8am to 8pm in July, up until the end of October, 4,352 people walked through their doors and were assessed. An overview of the figures show that 627 people attended the Monaghan Hospital in January but that figure increased to 1151 in September. The figures were made public following a parliamentary question laid down in the Dáil by Cavan-Monaghan TD Niamh Smyth.
She told Northern Sound these Monaghan figures mean pressure is taken off the ED at Cavan General Hospital. "The feedback I'm getting back from patients who use that system is that they're so impressed especially with the ease they that happens within the service they get and the speed at which they get seen to," Deputy Smyth said, "It has to be providing an ease to the really, really highly-used and very busy ED in Cavan General Hospital, so we need to see continued investment in the Monaghan MIU.
"I know the extended hours have certainly played a part in this increase of users but, it's certainly on the way up and it's good news for the MIU."
