Tag Archives: emergency department

A public works contract has been awarded for the fit-out and completion of the new emergency department, together with the delivery of a new 24-bed dialysis unit at University Hospital Limerick. The total cost of both projects, which are expected to be completed in 18 months, is in the region of €25 million . John Sisk & Son Holdings Ltd are the successful contractor for both these works following completion of the public procurement process and commenced setting up on site last week. The new emergency department will be located on the ground floor of both the critical care block and the adjacent extension and will be three times the size of the current ED space. A new state-of-the-art new dialysis unit will be provided on the first floor of the extension block on the same floor level as the hospitals new intensive care unit. This new dialysis unit project is being supported by the Mid-Western Hospitals Development Trust, with …

Regular transfers of nurses from Ennis Hospital to cover staffing shortages at University Hospital Limerick has heightened fears about future downgrading. HSE Forum West chairman, Councillor Tom McNamara, has registered his concern about why nurses who are rostered for duty in Ennis Hospital are being requested to report for duty at UHL on an ongoing basis. At a forum meeting in Galway on Tuesday, he said, “This is giving out the wrong message about Ennis Hospital. Clare people are worried that Ennis Hospital is being downgraded by the fact that staff are being moved out of the hospital to deal with a situation in UHL. “The HSE needs to deal its staffing shortage in UHL as quickly as possible. I know that it is not easy to get additional staff but the go-ahead has been given for more recruitment,” he said. While Councillor McNamara acknowledged there is a lack of staff at UHL, he claimed it is creating the wrong …

Extra measures are being sought by a nursing union to tackle overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) after the emergency department (ED) recorded the highest number of patients on trolleys earlier this week. According to the INMO Trolley Watch, there were 55 patients on trolleys in wards and the ED in UHL on Tuesday, compared to 46 in Beaumont Hospital. The UHL figure had increased dramatically from 34 on Monday before it reduced to 39 again on Wednesday. INMO industrial relations officer, Liz Curran, urged the HSE to eliminate any red tape that could delay the hiring of an extra 70 nurses for the UHL Hospital Group, so that new nurses can start working as soon as possible. Ms Curran called for an increase in the number of community intervention teams in the region, as she said this would assist with the earlier discharge of patients and would also help reduce the number of patients who require hospitalisation. Nurses in …

UP to 1,200 nurses in the Mid-West look set to approve industrial action early in the new year over “unsafe” plans to provide more than 100 extra beds in corridors and unsuitable rooms at Ennis Hospital and other local acute hospitals without extra staffing. Members of the Irish Nurses and Midwives’ Organisation (INMO) and SIPTU will ballot for industrial action during the first week of January over a new HSE escalation plan, which is designed to tackle chronic overcrowding in the emergency department (ED) at University Hospital Limerick (UHL). The general consensus indicates this ballot for industrial action will be approved by a large majority, paving the way for a work-to-rule as a starting point possibly during the third or fourth week of January. INMO representative, Mary Fogarty has demanded to know who sanctioned the reconfiguration of acute hospitals services in the Mid-West, which involved the closure of 24-hour emergency services in Ennis without putting the required additional resources into …

A paramedic who brought a patient to Dooradoyle had to argue with staff to get his trolley back, so under-resourced was the Regional Hospital, this week’s meeting of Clare County Council heard. Councillors also speculated that overcrowding at the Mid Western Regional Hospital is leading to people dying prematurely. Standing orders at the council meeting were suspended, as the members discussed the current situation at Dooradoyle, which all agreed was unacceptable.They called for A&E services to be restored at Ennis, while they also want urgent action to be taken to put an adequate facility in place at Dooradoyle. Councillor PJ Ryan said when he brought someone to hospital, he saw a “paramedic pleading with staff to give him his trolley back so he could respond to an emergency”. He said someone could have been dying of a heart attack but the driver wasn’t able to leave and it amounted to “a disgraceful situation”. Fianna Fáil Councillor Tom McNamara said the inadequacy of …

The conditions experienced by patients attending the Emergency Department in University Hospital Limerick are unacceptable, a new report published this Friday by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has found. The report also highlights a number of patient safety risks in the hospital group, which must be addressed as a priority. HIQA’s report of the review of the governance arrangements as reflected in the safety, quality and standards of services at UL Hospitals found a clear willingness to change and improve services for the public, but that the absence of a statutory governance framework is hindering the development of strong governance and patient safety functions. HIQA’s director of regulation, Phelim Quinn said, “Since the findings in 2009 of HIQA’s investigation into the quality and safety of hospital services in Ennis Hospital, there has been an extensive and positive journey of reconfiguration and reorganisation in the catchment area covered by UL Hospitals. Substantial governance and operational changes have occurred and …