I would like to thank the deputy for his question. Injury units provide safe and convenient care to recent minor injuries that do not require emergency department care. They can handle a variety of conditions, including Broken bones (non-complex fractures), dislocations, minor burns and scalds, cuts and wounds. These units are designed to provide the same level of care for specific conditions as an Emergency Department (ED), but more locally and with significantly shorter waiting times.
Last year, there were 222,697 attendances at Injury Units, representing a 5% increase compared to 2024. Crucially, the median Patient Experience Time (PET) in an Injury Unit remains exceptionally low at just 1.3 hours, ensuring that patients with non-life-threatening injuries can access the care they need much more quickly than in a traditional emergency department setting.
In 2023, the HSE undertook a National Injury Unit (IU) Review to examine the existing level of service and put forward recommendations to improve coverage, including:
• To standardise and expand the opening hours of all existing IUs to operate from 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week;
• To increase the number of IUs nationally to meet growing demand and improve geographical coverage.
The objective of the IU expansion programme is to provide more equitable access to IUs, to avoid longer waiting times in Emergency Departments (EDs), and to reduce unnecessary ED attendances of lower acuity patients. The expansion of IUs is underpinned by a safe model of care as recommended by the Emergency Medicine Programme.
As part of the HSE’s 2023 review, the geospatial and population implications of site options under consideration were assessed. The 2026 National Service Plan includes provision for the opening of additional IUs in Tallaght, Athlone, Carlow and Ballina.
The West and North West Regional Health Area currently has one operational Injury Unit at Roscommon University Hospital with another planned to open in Ballina during 2026.
