A PUBLIC representative’s description of the emergency department at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick as being like a “cattle mart” will resonate with many people’s experiences of the facility.

Mayhem is often the order of the day as patient queues grow longer and the numbers lying on trolleys mount up. In fact, this week, Limerick Regional Hospital was in pole position for all the wrong reasons. Forty-eight patients were lying on trolleys last Friday and while this figure dropped to 38 on Tuesday and Wednesday, it was still the highest in the country. Numbers had dropped to 31 by mid-afternoon on Wednesday.

The HSE has maintained that despite local emergency centres being available at Ennis and Nenagh, the evidence is that the local population are not availing of them. Instead, they are travelling directly to Dooradoyle. They point to the fact that construction has commenced on a new department, which is expected to be operational in two years.

In typical bureaucratic fashion, the HSE has come up with an Irish solution to an Irish problem. Stay away from Limerick hospital “unless you have a genuine emergency”.

The HSE is now under renewed pressure to restore 24-hour emergency department services in Ennis and Nenagh hospitals in an effort to address the overcrowding crisis in Limerick.

The request to stay away didn’t quite wash with councillors at a HSE West Forum meeting in Galway where they asked where Clare patients with acute illnesses were supposed to go when Limerick hospital couldn’t cope with its admissions and Ennis hospital didn’t have the resources to treat them.

Councillor Brian Meaney proposed the HSE should consider re-opening 24-hour emergency services in Ennis in a bid to ease the unacceptable overcrowding in Limerick. He said before 24-hour emergency services were removed from Ennis in April 2009, Clare people were assured a “world-class” emergency department would be provided in Dooradoyle.

Over the past few years there has been a litany of complaints about the inadequacies of the emergency department, primarily in respect of the delays in being accessed and treated.

Describing the emergency department in Limerick as like a “cattle mart”, North Tipperary County Councillor John Carroll claimed people were misled about the planned improvements in Dooradoyle before services were withdrawn from Ennis and Nenagh.

The Mid-West HSE has confirmed it has not seen evidence of a ’flu bug to which it can ascribe the high numbers of patients awaiting admission.

“Limerick hospital has had a succession of acutely unwell patients presenting at the ED. The majority have required admission to a bed. All patients in in-patient beds are reviewed three times a day to assess their fitness for discharge. However, the reality is that every bed in the hospital is occupied by a sick person.”

With a new emergency department at least two years off, a lot of sick and injured people will have to pass through the existing one, so the HSE will have to come up with a contingency plan. If this involves reintroducing 24-hour emergency cover in Ennis and Nenagh, all the better.

 

Gathering the tourists

NEW figures confirming an increase of more than 30,000 visitors to Ireland in December, January and February, compared to the same period a year ago, have been attributed largely to The Gathering initiative.
Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Michael Ring said the Central Statistic Office (CSO) figures show the positive start to the year of The Gathering Ireland 2013 is being sustained.

“I am particularly pleased with the strong numbers from North America, Australia and New Zealand. These are key markets for The Gathering, which clearly is already playing its part for tourism,” he said.

The 2.6% increase in the number of trips to Ireland for three months has brought the total number of visitors to 1.17m for this period. The Government is aiming to attract 325,000 more tourists to the country this year and imagination and hard graft is the only way to get a share of the spoils.

Clare, according to a recent survey, is listed among the best locations to holiday in Ireland. Those in the tourism sector – promoters and service providers – can build on this timely boost to lure more visitors. While there is a lot of potential to get people with Irish roots to travel here, the real challenge lies in cracking the market among the non-Irish.

Ennis gave a lead over the St Patrick’s festival period with a specific link-up that attracted hundreds of visitors from its twin town of Arizona, as well as a group from Langenfeld in Germany. These people filtered around the county, along with visitors from the US, UK and further afield.

The county town will again be at the centre of The Gathering next week for a major genealogy event, Gathering the Scattering. The five-day event, hosted by Clare Roots Society, will culminate on Saturday, April 6 with an international family history conference with contributions from genealogical experts.

An invitation has gone out for anyone who has Irish blood, a link to Ireland or even just a love of our country to come to the conference.

Gathering the Scattering will give people a chance to hold personal meetings with genealogists, who will be equipped with army records and American records.

Meanwhile, organisers of 75 separate festivals and events taking place across Clare during 2013 have benefited from a special training programme, organised by The Gathering Clare 2013 Steering Group and funded by Clare Local Development Company.

While The Gathering concept has its detractors, the benefits far outweigh the negatives. It provides a reason for people to visit Ireland at a time when the entire country is united in extending a genuine warm welcome.
It’s a 21st century take on our age-old greeting “céad míle fáilte”.