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Tag Archives: UL Hospitals Group

HSE Urges Clare People To Book Covid-19 Booster Vaccine Online

CLARE people have been urged to book their Covid-19 booster appointment online at HSE vaccination clinics. The Vaccination Centre in the former Outpatients’ Department at Ennis Hospital has reopened for booster vaccinations. In a statement issued to the Clare Champion, the UL Hospitals’ Group outlined booking a booster appointment online is an easy and convenient way by selecting a time and date that suits the individual person. People seeking a booster vaccine have also been advised to check with participating GPs and pharmacies. People who are more than 16 weeks pregnant are also invited to book their next booster at a HSE vaccination centre or from participating GPs and Pharmacies. The HSE and Children’s Health Ireland will shortly be inviting, through their parents, children aged five to 11 years who are immunocompromised and now due to have their first booster, following completion of their primary Covid-19 vaccine course. People aged 50 – 54 will be offered their second booster vaccine …

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Patient in UHL ED forced to call ambulance to get pain relief

A Clarecastle man suffering from a collapsed lung has claimed he was left “crying in pain” for hours at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) before he received medication after contacting the ambulance control centre for urgent assistance. Michael McCarthy, Clarecastle (24) was rushed by ambulance to UHL last Friday at 5am where a tube was inserted into his body after he was cut open as part of an emergency surgical procedure. Mr McCarthy has a medical condition since aged 21, that causes blisters on his lungs, which regularly burst, resulting in the collapse of his lungs. In an interview with the Clare Champion, Mr McCarthy recalled requesting pain relief by pressing a patient buzzer on Saturday morning from 8.30 am to 1pm, but couldn’t get any health professional to administer it. He claimed staff told him they would be back with pain relief in a few minutes. However, this never materialised. “I was crying in pain so I had to ring …

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Temporary Closure Of Ennis Local Injury Unit

  Short-term staffing deficits have been cited for the temporary closure of the Ennis Injury Unit on Saturday, August 20th. The UL Hospitals’ Group has announced that the Local Injury Unit in Ennis Hospital will be closed for one day due to a lack of staff to operate facilities. In a statement issued to the Clare Champion, the group confirmed this service will resume as normal on Sunday, August 21st from 8am to 8pm.   The group has apologised to patients who are inconvenienced by this disruption in service. “This decision has been made to ensure patient safety, which we strive to protect at all times. No other services at Ennis Hospital are affected.   “The group are advising people who require treatment for minor injuries on Saturday to attend the Injury Units at St John’s Hospital in Limerick, or Nenagh Hospital,” said a group spokesperson.   The group is also urging people with minor injuries not to attend the Emergency …

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Diabetes patients waiting up to seven years to be seen

FIVE patients are waiting six to seven years for a first appointment at an outpatients diabetes clinic in the Mid-West, new official figures have revealed. Figures provided by the UL Hospitals’ Group also show 101 patients are waiting four to five years, 28 patients are waiting five to six years, 58 patients are waiting up to six months while 72 patients are waiting six to 12 months for a first appointment. Out of the total of 573 on the waiting list, 47 patients are waiting 12 to 18 months, 57 patients are waiting 18 to 24 months and 205 patients are waiting two to four years. These figures were provided to Limerick Councillor Dan McSweeney in response to a question tabled at a recent HSE West Forum meeting. In September 2020, the diabetes outpatient waiting list was at least six years with 663 people and 336 of those people were waiting two years or more for their first appointment. While …

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‘Enough is enough’ – reverse A&E closures, campaigners demand

UP to 15,000 people marched in Ennis in November 2003 to oppose the proposed downgrading of Ennis Hospital, which was recommended in the controversial Hanly Report. Last Saturday, a paltry figure of about 70 people turned up to listen to members of the Mid-West Hospital Campaign present a case for the return of a fully functioning Accident and Emergency Department to Ennis and Nenagh Hospitals. A lot of public representatives also decided to stay away. The attendance included Deputy Cathal Crowe, Deputy Joe Carey, Senator Timmy Dooley, Councillor Mark Nestor and Councillor Donna McGettigan. Despite the poor turnout, one of the main organisers, Noeleen Moran, was satisfied with the attendance when questioned by the Clare Champion. “We are getting this campaign up and running after two years of lockdown. It is not an easy thing to encourage people to be in crowds after Covid-19 but we are satisfied with the turnout today. “We only spent two weeks advertising this protest. …

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Visiting restrictions eased at UHL

VISITING on inpatient wards in University Hospital Limerick has been reinstated from this Wednesday morning, April 13. Scheduled visiting slots for one visitor per patient are now permitted, but in line with national guidance on infection prevention, visits must be booked through an online system on this link Visiting restrictions remain in place for the Emergency Department, Acute Surgical Assessment Unit, and Acute Medical Assessment Unit. A spokesperson said UL Hospitals Group “was glad to bring to an end this period of restriction of access, which had been in place during a surge in community transmission of COVID-19”. Visiting hours at UHL are from 2pm to 4pm and 6pm to 9pm every day, and ward staff will assist with any queries about the booking system. Visitors will have to wear a face mask, which are available at the hospital entrance, and observe hand hygiene. Anyone who is feeling unwell is asked not to visit the hospital. The only exceptions to …

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Biting UHL review finds beds placed “any time anywhere”

A SITE visit of University Hospital Limerick (UHL) found permissive boarding with beds placed “anytime, anywhere, even and including mixed gender” five months before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, a new unpublished report has revealed. Serious questions about the model of care being adopted in UHL were highlighted in a draft report – “Review of Unscheduled Care Performance” concerning nine public hospitals, which has been released by the Irish Patients’ Association. Chaired by Prof Tom Keane, former President of the RCSI and joint National Lead Clinical Programme in Surgery, the review team, included external clinical and management expertise from NHS Scotland, the Scottish Government and NHS England. They visited nine public acute hospitals including UHL and Galway University Hospitals from August 16, 2019 to November 18, 2019. Overcrowding continues to be a problem in UHL, with 95 patients on trolleys in the hospital on Wednesday, April 6, which once again was the highest in the country. UHL had 36 …

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€9.95m theatre upgrade confirmed for Ennis Hospital

THE HSE has confirmed a €9.95 million capital budget allocation for the upgrade of a theatre at Ennis Hospital The project has already progressed to design stage according to Clare Independent TD Michael McNamara who received confirmation of the allocation from UL Hospitals Group CEO Collete Cowan. Ms Cowan confirmed the news to Deputy McNamara in response to his representations on theatre utilisation rates at Ennis Hospital, University Hospital Limerick (UHL), Nenagh Hospital and St. John’s Hospital during the pandemic. “While I very much welcome this long-awaited investment in theatre facilities in Ennis, I would like to see the project accelerated as figures given to me confirm the HSE’s pandemic response disproportionately impacted theatre usage at Ennis Hospital compared to other hospitals within the UL Hospitals Group,” commented Deputy McNamara. Some 2,021 procedures were carried out in Ennis during 2019, but this figure dropped by 56% to 897 in 2021. This compares to a 40% reduction at Nenagh Hospital (3,392 …

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