Tag Archives: Ennis General Hospital

The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly (FF) has announced a range of new measures aimed at alleviating overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick including opening the Acute Medical Assessment Unit in Ennis on 24 hour a day basis. Minister Donnelly visited University Hospital Limerick (UHL) today where he met with management, including Regional Executive Officer Sandra Broderick, the Health Service Executive (HSE) CEO Bernard Gloster, as well as consultants and other clinical leaders. UHL has consistently the highest number of people waiting on trollies for admittance to a hospital bed in the country. In 2024 to date, 17% of those who waited on trollies did so at UHL, a hospital which has 6% of Emergency Department attendances, and 6% of attendances of those over 75 years. “This continued problem is not acceptable to me as Minister, and it most certainly is not acceptable to the people of this region,” said Minister Donnelly. “In an effort to alleviate the problem I have …

MEMBERS of the regional health forum for the Midwest are being urged to make the case for the restoration of services at Ennis General, when they meet senior hospital officials next week.  In a statement, the Midwest Hospital Campaign, Clare, outlined that a meeting is to take place next Tuesday (July 19) between the management of University Hospital Limerick (UHL) and forum members representing Clare, Limerick and Tipperary. It follows a unanimous call for the restoration of Emergency Department (ED) services in Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s in Limerick, at the May meeting of the HSE West Regional Health Forum. The request for a follow-up meeting was made by Clare Green Councillor Liam Grant and Tipperary Independent Councillor Séamie Morris. “The Midwest Hospital Campaign Clare calls on all members of the forum to use this opportunity to advance the case to upgrade Ennis Hospital, to a model 3, which would mean the return of  24/7 Emergency Department to the county,” …

HEALTH services for women in the Mid-West must be improved as a matter of urgency, according to a former Mayor of Clare. At the April meeting of Clare County Council, Councillor Mary Howard described the waiting list for gynaecological appointments at Ennis General Hospital, which are the second highest in the country, as a sign of an “ongoing crisis”. In a joint motion, tabled with Councillors Donna McGetitgan, Alan O’Callaghan and Liam Grant, the Ennis woman outlined how figures released to the Dáil recently. These show the average wait time for an outpatient gynaecology appointment at the hospital is close to one year and five months and is second only to Tallaght Hospital nationwide “Waiting times at University Hospital Limerick are around half that number, averaging out at 291 days,” the motion said. “Some 599 women are currently waiting for such appointments in Ennis, along with a further 1,455 at UHL. “On foot of this information we request the Minister …

THOSE living with diabetes are at serious risk of life-altering complications due to delays in recruiting specialists in the Midwest, a meeting of the Council has heard. A joint motion from Councillors Johnny Flynn, Mary Howard and PJ Kelly called on the authority to intervene with the Minister for Health over several posts approved a year ago.  “I’m a diabetic for nearly 20 years myself,” Councillor Flynn told the meeting. “I’m a Type One diabetic, which means I’m insulin-dependent. This isn’t a criticism of the excellent diabetic clinic that is managed and run in Ennis. It’s in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) the problem is.”  The Fine Gael member outlined how programmes offering support with diet and insulin pumps are offered elsewhere in the country, but not by the University of Limerick Hospitals Group (ULHG). “The effect of the low level of staffing is that 663 people with diabetes from Clare and Limerick are waiting on specialist treatment, with half of …

THE 2021 Capital Plan has made an allocation of €6 million for health facilities in Clare, with six projects earmarked for investment this year. The blueprint unveiled by Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and seen by The Champion allocates €1.89m towards the provision for what is described as a “fit-for-purpose residential addiction treatment service” to replace the existing facilities at Bushy Park, outside Ennis. In respect of the replacement community nursing unit for St Joseph’s Hospital, which will comprise two 50-bed units on a green-field site, 75 of which will be long stay and 25 short stay, an allocation of €0.95m has been made by the Department of Health. Provision for the equipping of the new Out Patient Department (OPD) at Ennis General Hospital – which will include the provision of an X-ray room and other diagnostic facilities has been made and represents a spend this year of €0.44m. Meanwhile, Phase 1b of the redevelopment of Ennis General Hospital which will consist …

DESPITE a number of upgrades, Ennis General Hospital won’t see its former status return, and will remain a Model 2 facility, the Chief Clinical Director of the UL Hospitals Group (ULHG) has said. Professor Brian Lenehan told a briefing for local authority members that while new operating theatres are planned for the site in the county town, they won’t change the status of the facility within the hospitals group. He noted progress in a number of areas at Ennis General, including a new outpatient department which is now equipped and set to open in the first quarter of next year. “We will increase the range of services available in Ennis over the course of the year,” Professor Lenehan said. “The Medical Assessment Unit (MAU) and the Local Injuries Unit (LIU) will see upgrades. The MAU is now open seven days a week and sees 32 patients a day. University Hospital Limerick (UHL) would struggle without it.” Professor Lenehan described the …

NEW figures reveal that Clare had the highest rate in Munster of Covid-19 cases in nursing homes, during the first wave of the pandemic. Data presented in the final report of the Nursing Homes Expert Panel show that this county had more than twice as many cases linked to care home clusters as Limerick. This is despite the fact that County Limerick had a far higher number of cases in the population as a whole (581) than Clare (371), in the period from March to June. Reacting to the figures, the Clare-based Chair of the Dáil Committee on Covid-19 Response confirmed that it will consider calling for a public inquiry into the fate of nursing home residents between March and May. Deputy Michael McNamara confirmed that the committee has invited members of the Expert Panel to appear before it on September 16, alongside representatives of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA). “I don’t want to prejudge these hearings,” Deputy …

A BACKLOG in elective medical procedures caused by Covid-19 restrictions means that Ennis General Hospital must be upgraded and have its 24/7 Emergency Department restored, Clare County Councillors have claimed. At the July meeting of the local authority, Councillor Donna McGettigan tabled a motion calling on the new health minister to upgrade the facility to a Model Three, meaning that it would have capacity to perform more complex procedures as well as having a round-the-clock Casualty Department. “The pandemic has brought a whole new urgency to the situation,” the Sinn Féin member said. “Around the country, there are 2,700 people waiting for urgent bowel cancer tests, 300 of them over 90 days. People are dying on waiting lists and we have to act otherwise people will suffer irreparable and life-changing damage. Ennis General really needs to be upgraded to respond to the situation.” The motion was seconded by Councillor Johnny Flynn. “As a member of the Ennis Hospital Action Group, …