Tag Archives: hospital

Thousands of private patients will have to travel to Limerick or Galway for day procedures and consultations with the closure of the surgical unit at Cahercalla Community Hospital from May 1. Catering for up to 2,500 day surgical admissions and 5,000 consultations annually, the unit, which has signicantly reduced waiting times for patients for almost 15 years, is no longer deemed viable.  The ending of this service also places a question mark over the future of 11 employees. Describing the closure as “catastrophic”, HSE West Forum member, Councillor Brian Meaney, said it is another major blow for health services in the county. “Its closure is a significant loss in the options available to Clare people to have their health issues dealt with locally. The availability of   medical  and surgical services at the facility where many Clare people were born, reduced the stress many people encounter when they have health concerns,” he stated. “This also sends out a distress signal for …

THE status of  Ennis hospital is back in the public domain following a statement from a senior HSE figure about the “awful” experience of patients waiting for long periods in the emergency department at University Hospital Limerick (UHL). Twenty-four hour emergency department services were reduced to 12 hours at Ennis Hospital in April 2009, following reconfiguration of services in local acute hospitals. Deputy Joe Carey has pledged to request Health Minister James Reilly to commission an independent review of acute hospital services following the revelation that the Mid-West is the only region in the country without at least two fully functioning 24-hour emergency departments. The Mid-West currently has one model four hospital, a university teaching hospital with a high-level intensive care unit, at UHL; three model two hospitals in Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s, Limerick, where selected medical in-patient, medical assessment and a local injuries unit are provided; as well as Croom Hospital and University Maternity Hospital, Limerick. However, it …

AN ambitious three-year plan to place acute public hospitals in the Mid-West among the top  three Irish hospitals by 2018 was officially launched on Thursday. The chairman of the UL Hospitals’ Board, Professor Niall O’Higgins explained the strategy set targets and indicated what must be done to achieve them in six hospitals. “Judgement on whether or not we have realised our vision by 2018 will be made by those we serve. “Having a map, a destination and a plan is just the first step in our journey. While the strategic plan identifies specific actions that we will take to achieve our strategic priorities, our success will depend on the extent to which each and every employee at UL Hospitals embraces the plan and becomes part of its implementation,” he said. The new interim UL Hospitals’ Board will focus on the delivery of four key strategic priorities over the next three years. These relate to developing a functioning single hospital across multiple sites; providing a quality, …

STAFF and residents at St Joseph’s Geriatric Hospital, Ennis may be transferred to a €40 million state-of-the-art elderly care hospital, if a new development proposal is delivered by the Government within the next two years. The Clare Champion understands that one of the options being seriously assessed by the Health Service Executive is the construction of a multi-million euro community hospital on a greenfield site in the Ennis area, to ensure full compliance with HIQA’s premises and physical environment regulations. It is understood the HSE has been given over two years to implement a plan that would necessitate a complete refurbishment of St Joseph’s, with its associated logistical problems, revamping an old building or building a purpose-built facility on a new site. The HSE Mid-West was given an opportunity to comment on the information furnished to The Clare Champion but there was no response at the time of going to press. While nursing home providers have been requested to comply …

Up to 325 procedures covering surgery, out patient appointments and clinics in six acute  Mid-West hospitals were cancelled on Tuesday as a result of the junior doctors’ strike. The HSE has confirmed the cancellations affecting Clare patients were in the University  Hospital Limerick, University Maternity Hospital, Ennis Hospital, Croom Hospital, Nenagh Hospital. According to the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO), Sunday cover plus an Intensive Care Unit ((ICU) registrar will be provided at University Hospital Limerick, Ennis Hospital and Nenagh Hospital on Tuesday. “It is up to the hospital to make the necessary arrangements with regard to any cancellations they feel are necessary. “Chemotherapy services and dialysis will be protected. If further cover is needed over and above Sunday cover to ensure this then that will be provided,” said an IMO spokeswoman. The Mid-West HSE has stated any patient whose operation, clinic appointment or service is affected is being contacted directly by phone. Any patient who doesn’t directly  hear from the …

MARK Bowers was shocked when consultant urological surgeon, Garrett Durkan looked him in the eye in the Mid-Western Radiation Oncology Centre, Limerick and confirmed he had prostate cancer. While no one is prepared for this devastating news, the fact that 17 months earlier an ultrasound test revealed a cyst was benign, made it an even more bitter pill for the 52-year-old to swallow. Looking back at that day last October, the Killaloe man felt it was akin to “an icy hand grabbing your heart and squeezing it”. Three previous Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) tests had shown elevated antigens but none of them were considered to be at a dangerous level. Right from the start of his diagnosis, he was assured all the way that he would be fine, as the cancer was detected in its early stages. His brother-in-law in Canada, who is in his early 70s, is dying from prostate cancer. Mark believes his brother-in-law, who ironically nursed people …