Tag Archives: University Maternity Hospital Limerick

    The majority of scheduled public surgery and outpatient appointments in the Mid-West will be deferred next Tuesday due to an increase in staff absences . The UL Hospitals’ Group has confirmed Covid-19 related staff absences are resulting in significant disruption to services. This has resulted in the deferral of most of scheduled surgery and outpatient appointments across all hospital sites from Tuesday, January 4 until Friday, January 7. This includes University Hospital Limerick, Ennis Hospital, Nenagh Hospital, St John’s Hospital, and Croom Orthopaedic Hospital. Services at University Maternity Hospital Limerick are unaffected. All impacted patients are being contacted directly by the hospital.   As the group experience a significant surge in Covid-19 activity across society, it anticipates that an increase in staff absences will have a significant impact on services over the coming weeks. There are currently 392 staff off work and self-isolating having either tested positive for Covid-19, been designated as a close contact or have been …

ADDITIONAL infection control measures have been put in place at University Maternity Hospital Limerick following an outbreak of Covid-19. Access for nominated support partners to hospital inpatient wards is being limited to one two-hour slot per day between the hours of 2pm and 8pm. These slots will be co-ordinated at ward level by our staff, who will link directly with service users and nominated support partners. The UL Hospitals’ Group recognise that this represents a considerable reduction in access on their inpatient wards. The hospital will facilitate additional access for inpatients on compassionate grounds on a case-by-case basis where these restrictions are causing considerable distress. It is committed to increasing access for partners on inpatient wards as soon as possible. An online system is available for nominated support partners to complete a Covid-19 questionnaire in advance of attending the hospital. The group also encourage partners to consider taking an antigen test in advance of attending UMHL should they have one …

WHILE maternity services have been forced to adapt delivery of care due to the pandemic, Covid-19 has not prevented a number of initiatives around breastfeeding at University Maternity Hospital Limerick (UMHL). National Breastfeeding Week is taking place October 1st to 7th with the theme this year of “Feeding the Future-Supporting Breastfeeding through the Pandemic and Beyond”. Breastfeeding rates in Ireland are among the lowest in the world but in July 2021 UMHL saw its highest initiation rate ever with 67.3% of babies having breast milk as their first feed. Clinical Midwife Managers in Infant Feeding, Helen Byrt and Carmen Murphy outline a number of initiatives around breastfeeding at UMHL. Breastfeeding has many proven health benefits for mother and baby. The World Health Organisation and the HSE recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby’s life; with the addition of solid food at six months and continued breastfeeding to two years and beyond. Immediate skin-to-skin contact at birth …

UL Hospitals’ Group is running a Satellite Covid-19 Vaccination Clinic at University Maternity Hospital Limerick (UMHL) from Monday morning, September 20th, to offer safe, convenient vaccination for expectant mums attending the hospital and inpatients who wish to be vaccinated. The announcement comes as UMHL marks world Patient Safety Day today, Friday, September 17th, which this year marks ‘Safe maternal and newborn care’. In line with guidance from the National Immunisation Authority that women can receive mRNA vaccines at any stage of pregnancy, clinical and midwifery directors at the maternity hospital state that the satellite clinic offers women a convenient way to keep themselves and their babies safe while Covid-19 remains prevalent in the community. Dr Naro Imcha, Associate Clinical Director of Maternal and Child Health, UL Hospitals’ Group, said staff want to be very clear, and reassure all pregnant women that the Covid-19 vaccination is safe. “It’s the best way to protect yourself, and your baby, from Covid-19.” Eileen Ronan, …

Partners were permitted to accompany pregnant Clare women for their 12-week scan in University Maternity Hospital Limerick on Friday afternoon. The gradual easing of partner restrictions follows new guidance issued by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre on August 5th in respect of the 12-week scan and c-section. University Maternity Hospital Limerick already facilitates partner access for elective and emergency sections. In a statement issued to the Clare Champion,  the UL Hospitals’ Group confirmed patients with scheduled appointments over the next three weeks will be contacted by phone and offered the opportunity to attend a separate dating scan appointment with one accompanying person. For new appointments going forward a GP letter will be assessed, the patient will be offered two appointments, a dating scan appointment and an antenatal clinic appointment with an explanation of the difference in both appointments, and clearly stating which appointment their accompanying person can attend. As is current practice a member of the midwifery team working from …

TOO many Covid-19 restrictions are still imposed in University Maternity Hospital Limerick (UMHL) limiting access for partners, the Irish Birth Movement (IBM) has claimed. The Irish Birth Movement staged a protest calling for maternity restrictions to be lifted immediately outside University Maternity Hospital Limerick recently. A group of women, including mothers, midwives, doulas and other birth activists have protested at various locations nationwide in recent weeks. Leigh Brosnan of the IBM said there are still too many restrictions being imposed in UMHL. She said that partners were still not allowed to be present in the early stages of labour in UMH and can’t attend for early scans when bad news is sometimes delivered to a couple. Ms Brosnan said a few weeks ago, a woman who attended the protest had a miscarriage on her own without her partner, which was very distressing for her. Stating more creative solutions must be introduced in UMH to increase access for partners, she referred …

  Nominated partners will be given 45-minute visiting slots in University Maternity Hospital Limerick (UMHL) next Monday, as Covid-19 restrictions ease. Partners will be able to visit in postnatal wards, M1 and M2, between the hours of 6pm and 8pm daily. This follows the recent reintroduction of the option to have nominated partners present for anomaly scans, and visiting for fathers/parents of babies in the neonatal unit at the hospital. Meanwhile, visiting on compassionate grounds will continue to be facilitated, as it has been throughout the pandemic. Birthing partners will also continue to be supported in attending the Labour Ward and theatre. All nominated partners must adhere to the wearing of face masks, observe hand hygiene and social distancing. Temperature monitoring is in place at the main reception, along with the completion of a Covid-19 screening questionnaire. The measures are subject to change, and hospital management will continue to review the situation on a weekly basis, to plan for the …

THE Diabetes in Pregnancy service at University Maternity Hospital Limerick (UMHL) has served mums and mums-to-be throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, thanks to innovative ‘virtual clinics’. According to the UL Hospitals’ Group, these clinics provide convenient access to health services at a time when social and physical distancing remains so central to minimising the threat to public health of the coronavirus. A virtual clinic is one in which the patient and clinician interact in real time, via a video link or phone call instead of the traditional face-to-face appointment. Staff and patients of the Diabetes in Pregnancy Service at UMHL are using the ‘Attend Anywhere’ video platform and telephone calls to conduct a total of 92 virtual consultations every week. This technology is enabling the Diabetes in Pregnancy service to host four Gestational Diabetes clinics every week with a total of 24 patient ‘slots; one weekly clinic in Insulin Initiation with six patient slots; while also allowing for 20 scheduled calls …