Visiting times extended at nenagh hospital

UL Hospitals is extending its general evening visiting times in four hospitals in response to patient feedback.
In University Hospital Limerick (UHL), Ennis hospital, Nenagh hospital and Croom hospital, general evening visiting times will now be from 6pm to 9pm instead of 6.30pm to 8.30pm, an extension of one hour. General daytime visiting hours will remain as before, from 2pm to 4pm.
UL Hospitals encourages the presence and participation of visitors as family and friends provide important emotional support to patients and are invaluable as members of the care team.
To help further understand patients’ needs, UL Hospitals carried out a comprehensive survey. Results of the survey revealed that patients wanted extended visiting hours to make the hospital more accessible to their family and friends in the evening.
Speaking about the extended visiting times, UL Hospitals Chief Operations Officer Noreen Spillane said: “Our patients have told us that visiting times with friends and family is the most important part of their day, in particular evening visiting time. We have listened to this feedback and extended our evening visiting times in response to this wish.”
The survey also revealed that patients want visiting time balanced with quiet time to allow them an opportunity to rest and heal. Noreen Spillane advised: “In response to the need for quiet time, we would encourage families to co-ordinate their visiting times with other family members/friends so that they spread their visits across the visiting hours. Patients may have up to two visitors at any one time. We would ask all visitors to please adhere to visiting times as this allows staff to provide the best possible care for patients and aids rest and recovery.”
Specific wards such as the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) or the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) and others where patients are critically ill will have different visiting times and visitors should contact the main hospital reception for these times. The Children’s Ark in UHL has specific visiting times to accommodate bedtime for children, as requested by families and patients, visiting times there are 2.00pm to 4.00pm and 6.00pm to 7.30pm.
In response to the wishes of new mums to have rest time with their babies, general visiting times in the University Maternity Hospital will remain as before, from 1.30pm to 3.30pm and 6.30pm to 8.30pm with visiting times for partners from 9am to 9pm.
UL Hospitals continues to develop services to improve the visitor experience across the group. The Patient Advocacy Liaison Service (PALS) is available at UHL, Ennis and Nenagh and will be launched in Croom and the University Maternity Hospital Limerick in the coming months. PALS volunteers work to improve the experience of patients and the public who come to the hospital by providing guidance and support.
If you are interested in volunteering for PALS, please contact Catherine Hand on 061-482531 or email catherinel.hand@hse.ie.
UL Hospitals also encourages feedback from visitors and they can do this by completing a ‘Your Service Your Say’ form located on all wards and public areas. Visitors can also email feedback to yoursay.ulhospitals@hse.ie.