UL Hospitals Group: Facts and Figures
Emergency department attendances
The emergency department (ED) at University Hospital Limerick is one of the busiest in the country.
- ED attendances in 2023 were 80,113 - an increase of 0.28% on 2022 when there were 79,892 attendances.
- ED attendance in 2023 averaged 219 presentations per day.
- ED presentations categorised by age profile throughout 2023 are as follows:
- Paediatrics (0-15 years) represented 22% of attendances.
- Adults (16-74 years) represented 63% of attendances.
- People 75 years and over represented 15% of attendances.
Injury Unit presentations
There were 46,704 presentations to Injury Units in 2023.
Injury Unit attendance in 2023 increased by 6.14% on 2022. There were on average 127 Injury Unit presentations per day (combined for Ennis, St John's and Nenagh)
Births at University Maternity Hospital Limerick
University Maternity Hospital Limerick is the busiest maternity hospital outside of Dublin and Cork.
The number of births in 2023 was 3,964. This was an increase of 0.7% on 2022.
Hospital beds
Number of inpatient beds for each hospital
- University Hospital Limerick - 535
- St. John's Hospital Limerick - 89
- Ennis Hospital - 50
- Nenagh Hospital - 52
- Croom Orthopaedic Hospital - 44
- University Maternity Hospital Limerick - 102
Total number of beds - 872
The day case capacity for each hospital
- University Hospital Limerick - 140
- St. John's Hospital -10
- Ennis Hospital - 18
- Nenagh Hospital - 21
- Croom Orthopaedic Hospital - 13
- University Maternity Hospital Limerick - 2
Inpatient is a patient who goes into hospital to receive medical or surgical care and stays there one or more nights while they are being treated.
A day case is a patient who is admitted on an elective basis for care and or treatment. A day case patient does not require the use of a hospital bed overnight. Day case patients are admitted and discharged as scheduled on the same day.
Patient care that resulted in a birth/delivery is not included in the day case capacity figures.
Staff numbers
UL Hospitals Group (ULHG) is a substantial employer in the Midwest region employing more than 4,500 people across 6 hospitals.
Outpatient attendances
Total of new and return outpatient attendances in 2023 were 243,100. This was an increase of 15.8% on 2022.
Outpatient attendance by hospital
- University Hospital Limerick – 164,787
- St. John's Hospital – 7,399
- Ennis Hospital – 13,568
- Nenagh Hospital – 15,922
- Croom Orthopaedic Hospital – 10,686
- University Maternity Hospital Limerick – 30,738
Readmission Rates
Medical - The Group's 2023 emergency readmission rate for acute medical conditions, to the same hospital within 30 days of discharge, was 13.6%. The 2023 national benchmark target was 11.1%.
Surgical - The Group's 2023 surgical readmission rate, to the same hospital within 30 days of discharge, was 2.2%. The 2023 national benchmark target is 2%.
Average Length of Stay
Medical – UL Hospitals Group remained under the 2023 national benchmark target of 5 days.
Surgical - UL Hospitals Group remained under the 2023 national benchmark target of 3.8 days.
This page was updated 30 January 2024. All figures are preliminary and may be subject to change due to further validation.