New injury unit offering an alternative to A&E to open in Carlow by the end of the year

A new injury clinic offering an alternative to attending the emergency department will open in Carlow before the end of the year 

Works on the €1.9 million unit, based on the ground floor of St. Dymphna's Hospital, are currently underway.

It will operate under the auspices of St. Luke's General Hospital Carlow/Kilkenny to manage minor injuries.

The HSE Dublin and South East plans to have a new Injury Unit in operation in Carlow by the end of this year.

READ NEXT: LIVE BLOG: Carlow restaurant and top chefs on show at Michelin Star Awards in Dublin

Broken bones, sprains, minor facial injuries, scalds and burns, objects stuck in places they shouldn't be, and minor head injuries are some of the conditions that will be able to be treated at the unit. 

"The treatment of unscheduled, non-life-threatening or limb-threatening injuries at the Carlow injury unit will assist in meeting demands on St. Luke’s General Hospital in Kilkenny. With the Carlow unit in operation, we anticipate faster access to diagnostic and radiography services and improved patient outcomes for people in Carlow and surrounding areas," Niamh Lacey, Hospital Manager, St. Luke’s, said.

The unit is expected to open 9am - 5pm Monday to Friday, and staffing arrangements are currently underway.

READ NEXT: Carlow mother and daughter 'grateful' to have delivered 'transformative' eye care to people in India

The X-ray outreach facility at St. Dympna’s that serves St. Luke’s will remain in place.

The new unit will include a reception and waiting area, two clinical rooms, a clinical multi-bed room, a Consultant's office, support spaces, and staff facilities.

St. Dympna’s Hospital, in its function as a mental health inpatient facility, ceased taking acute admissions in 2003 and a residential care centre there closed in 2008.

The St. Dympna’s building continues to have a variety of uses, including mental health day services, primary care, environmental health, and HSE supplies services.