THE OPENING of a new medical centre to treat minor injuries will cut waiting times at Cork’s A&E departments.
The Mercy Urgent Care Centre opened yesterday at St Mary’s Health Campus in the grounds of the former Orthopaedic Hospital, Gurranbraher, in Cork city.
The centre will treat adults and children aged 10 and over, with non-emergency conditions such as broken bones, minor burns and cuts.
Emergency medicine consultant Dr Gerry McCarthy said the centre would help to cut waiting times and patient volumes in A&E departments at Mercy University Hospital (MUH) and Cork University Hospital (CUH).
“People with injuries that are unlikely to require hospital admission will be seen speedily and discharged,” said Dr McCarthy.
A spokesman for MUH said that between 40 and 50 per cent of patients who go to emergency departments have minor injuries.
The centre will be open from 8am to 6pm, seven days a week.