Tag Archives: Colette Cowan

ABOUT 30 staff who are considered vulnerable workers are being reassigned to other duties in the UL Hospitals’ Group, it emerged this week. The reassignment was completed in compliance with the Return to Work Safely Protocol produced by the Health and Safety Authority, HSE and the Department of Health, and in accordance with human resources and occupational health guidance. In an overview of Covid-19 circulated for county councillors, UL Hospitals’ Group chief executive officer, Colette Cowan revealed local laboratory testing for Covid-19 at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) reached a new high of 280 tests in a single day recently. The group’s microbiology team and medical scientists have worked extremely hard to scale up testing and they are now at the limits of what can be achieved with existing equipment. The group are sourcing new test instruments that will allow it to further increase and enhance local testing capacity at UHL. Stocks of Personal Protective Equipment within the group are currently …

THE development of a new ‘Urgent Care Centre’ at University Hospital Limerick has been recommended in a new draft plan by a Mid-West steering group looking at ways to alleviate overcrowding at the hospital. The news is confirmed in response to a parliamentary question from Clare TD Joe Carey. Deputy Carey directly raised the issue with the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly. The local Fine Gael TD asked the minister if he was aware of the proposal to develop the Urgent Care Centre at University Hospital Limerick and if the necessary resources would be provided “to advance the plan and deal with chronic overcrowding at the hospital”. In reply, Minister Donnelly forwarded a response from UL Hospitals Group chief executive Colette Cowan. Ms Cowan confirmed to Deputy Carey, “A Mid-West Integrated Care Steering Group comprising staff from HSE MidWest Community Healthcare, UL Hospitals Group, National Ambulance Service and the Department of Public Health MidWest has developed a draft plan for an …

UL Hospitals Group is reminding members of the public that the ban on visiting across its six hospitals remains in place. The activation of Phase 3 in lifting the Covid-19 public health restrictions will allow us to gradually increase elective activity across our sites. However, the visiting ban remains in place to reduce the risk of transmission of Covid-19 and to help protect the safety of patients and staff during the ongoing public health emergency. The visiting ban was introduced in early March at University Hospital Limerick, University Maternity Hospital Limerick, St John’s Hospital, Nenagh Hospital, Ennis Hospital and Croom Orthopaedic Hospital. The ban also applies to the Intermediate Care Facility which opened at the UL Arena on June 8. Nor is visiting permitted to patients attending the Emergency Department at University Hospital Limerick or at the Injury Units in Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s. “We regret the distress or inconvenience our visiting ban causes for patients and their loved …

UNIVERSITY Hospital Limerick (UHL) will be able to cope with a second wave of Covid-19, according to a senior clinician. Professor Paul Burke, chief academic officer at UL Hospitals’ Group believes Ireland may experience new clusters of the virus like other countries. Speaking at a recent media briefing in the University of Limerick, Professor predicted there will be a “relative surge” of coronavirus. “I think there will be a relative surge. There may be clusters like Seoul in South Korea. We do have a good contact tracing system in place. If we identify things quickly we will be able to curb it. “I think we will have a consistent number of Covid-19 patients in our hospitals on an ongoing basis. The threat will continue to remain. “I would be confident that UHL will cope with another surge. It has been remarkable over the last three months. The first notifiable case was in the Mid-West. We instituted our close down a …

A retiring senior clinician has warned that public hospitals could still be overwhelmed by a resurgence of Covid-19. While UL Hospitals’ Group chief clinical director, Dr Gerry Burke is relieved with the suppression of coronavirus, he has urged people to “hold firm” as intensive care facilities in Ireland still have limited capacity to deal with a potential second wave of the virus later this year. “It has been a massive effort, but it’s a work in progress. The threat has not gone away. It has abated somewhat, but there is a threat of us being overwhelmed by a resurgence of the disease. “It’s important to remember that our ICU in capacity in Ireland is still limited; that we still have limited single room space; and limited numbers of medical and nursing staff. We must not be complacent. We have got to hold firm,” he said. In addition to requiring an additional 300 public acute beds, Dr Burke, who retired recently, …

ATTENDANCES at the Emergency Department at UHL increased in the week ending January 6 and are expected to rise further in the coming weeks. High volumes of elderly patients with medical conditions, in particular respiratory conditions, have been presenting in recent days and the number of flu cases has also begun to rise. There were 1,301 attendances to the ED at UHL between December 24 and December 30 and this rose to 1,343 attendances in the seven-day period December 31 to January 6. The Christmas/New Year period has also proven busy for the Injury Units Ennis, St John’s and Nenagh hospitals. Between December 24 and January 1 there were a total of 790 attendances to the three units combined, an aggregate increase of 6.5%. The numbers attending at Ennis were 245 (-18); at Nenagh 251 (+21) and at St John’s 294 (+45). “The hospital is currently operating at capacity and all available surge capacity is in use. Initiatives introduced under the winter plan  – such as expanding …

FAMILIES who have lost a child now have a place to remember their loved ones with the completion of a Children’s Remembrance Area in the Chapel at University Hospital Limerick. The project was the concept of parent Theresa Noonan, whose daughter Katherine died under the care of Hilary Noonan, Children’s Outreach Nurse, UHL, and the Milford Home Care Team. It has been developed by the Paediatric End-of-Life Care Committee at UHL and opened  by Sister Helen Culhane, founder of the Children’s Grief Centre in Limerick. The centre-piece of the new area is the Children’s Book of Remembrance, which is kept in a cabinet beautifully crafted by Mark Griffin and funded with a grant from Milford Care Centre Compassionate Communities. The specially commissioned stained glass was designed by Alexander Vugs from Ildanach Studios in Cork. The stained glass has many different shapes and colours which represents the uniqueness and individuality of each child remembered. This was kindly sponsored by the Brosnan family …

UL Hospitals has become the first group in the country to produce a Major Emergency Plan. A major emergency is defined as any incident, usually with little or no warning, which overwhelms the ability of an organisation to respond. Major emergency planning is built into key public services in Ireland and inter-agency plans – involving collaboration between health authorities, local authorities and An Garda Siochana at a regional and national level – have long been in existence. Major emergency plans provide staff with roles and responsibilities in the event of the declaration of a major emergency. Individual hospitals have long had them in place but following the formation of hospital groups, it is now a requirement to deliver a plan at group level. “This document provides staff across UL Hospitals with a plan of action in the event of a major emergency being declared and is also a guide on how to implement that plan in a structured, coordinated and …