Tag Archives: HSE

An Cathaoirleach of the West Clare Municipal District. Councillor Rita McInerney (FF), has raised concerns over health services accessibility in West Clare, and has highlighted critical issues that she says need urgent attention including what she sees as the limited hours of operation of the Small Injuries Clinic. Cllr Rita McInerney, who is a member of the Regional Health Forum has voiced concerns about the accessibility and availability of health services for residents in West Clare. At the recent Regional Health Forum meeting held on Tuesday, July 16, Cllr McInerney’s inquiries regarding the Ennis Small Injuries Clinic and ShannonDoc services highlighted critical issues that need urgent attention. In relation to limited hours at the Ennis Injury Unit, Cllr McInerney questioned the Health Service Executive (HSE) about the timeline for extending the operating hours of the Ennis Small Injuries Clinic from 8am to midnight. The HSE’s response revealed no current plans to extend these hours, citing a national review in 2023 …

An Cathaoirleach for West Clare has urged Clare Mental Health and the HSE to reconsider their decision to withdraw night-time assistance for independent living clients in Kilrush saying residents safety and well-being must be protected above all else. The Clare Champion has seen a letter from Councillor Ian Lynch (Ind) to Nursing at Clare Mental Health where he has expressed his urgent concern regarding the withdrawal of night-time assistance for independent living clients in Kilrush. He has urged Clare Mental Health and the HSE to reconsider their decision to withdraw night-time assistance saying any transition of property assets must protect residents safety and well-being above all else, and must ensure that they continue to receive the level of care and support they require. Mark Quinn, SIPTU Health Official for the Mid-West who represents supervisors working with the Sophia Housing home explained that people with mental health issues who live in the residence are being cared for by the HSE employees …

THE parents of Aoife Johnston who died at University Hospital Limerick (UHL), after waiting 12 hours on a chair while dying of sepsis, told her inquest today they watched her die despite “begging” staff to help, reports David Raleigh. James and Carol Johnston gave emotional and harrowing evidence at Limerick Coroner’s Court of the final moments of their 16-year-old daughter’s death, on December 19, 2022. James Johnston wept and held his face in his hands as he told the inquest that, despite his pleadings for assistance for his daughter, UHL staff “kept given Aoife paracetamol, and putting ice packs on her legs” but that “they just weren’t really helping, there was no help”. Mr Johnston said Aoife had awoken at their home on Saturday, December 17, in “great form” but she became “unwell” around midday, and “took some paracetamol and returned to bed”. Around 3.30pm Aoife vomited and Mr Johnston made an appointment at locum GP service Shannodoc for 4.50pm …

The continued closure of long-stay beds and some respite beds at Ennistymon Community Hospital has been condemned as “totally unacceptable” by former Clare County Councillor and local election candidate, Bill Slattery (FG). In a statement issued to The Clare Champion, he said that serious questions need to be answered by the HSE and hospital management as to why vitally important and much needed services are being denied to the community. “A huge amount of money and time has been invested by the people of North Clare in this facility and they deserve a return on that investment,” he said. Mr Slattery recently wrote to HSE CEO Bernard Gloster to highlight concerns about the continued closure of 12 beds at Ennistymon Community Hospital. He pointed out that six respite beds have remained unused in the old wing of the hospital since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Also, an additional six beds in the newly developed long-term ward – which is …

Concern has been expressed about the cessation of respite care at Ennistymon Community Hospital for two separate five-month periods due to staffing shortages. Councillor Liam Grant (GP) has expressed his disappointment that staff shortages have led to the ending of respite services from August 2022 to January 2023 and from August 2023 to January 2024. The palliative care bed and five respite beds are currently available for admission. Councillor Grant asked for a comprehensive report on the services provided at Ennistymon Community Hospital and HSE plans for future development at an HSE West Forum meeting. The Green Party Councillor also requested figures for how many beds are available for long-term, respite and palliative care, the occupancy rate and whether were there any staffing issues affecting what the hospital can provide. Welcoming the submission of an application to the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) to register six new beds, Councillor Grant said he hoped staffing issues don’t arise at the …

A woman, believed to be in her fifties, who was airlifted to hospital after she became unwell while swimming on Lough Derg, died at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) on Thursday evening. Emergency services were alerted to assist a woman who got into difficulty while swimming near the fishing stands on the Killaloe side of the Twomilegate bathing area. Killaloe Coast Guard was tasked to the scene at about 6.40pm and arrived to Ballycuggeran within seven minutes practically at the same time as one HSE paramedic. Members of the public had commenced cardiocompulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on a fishing stand near the forest area at Ballcuggeran. This was continued by two advanced HSE paramedics with assistance from Coast Guard members. It is understood that there were a lot of people swimming in the water at the time due to the hot weather. Assistance was requested from the Emergency Aeromedical Service, which sent the HSE’s Cork-based air ambulance, Aeromed 01, to the scene. …

  Major shortcomings in the provision of child and adolescent mental health services in the Mid-West have prompted an apology from the HSE. Serious concerns about the capacity of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services to provide a safe service for young people in the region with mental health issues have been highlighted in a new report completed by the Mental Health Commission (MHC). Responding to the Commission’s critical report, HSE Mid West Community Healthcare stated it acknowledges deficits in the provision of CAMHS and apologises to children and families who have not received the standard of care that they or they expect. The HSE outlined it continues to progress a targeted series of service improvements in Mid- West CAMHS. The number of children waiting for a mental health appointment in West Clare has increased sevenfold in the last year up from 12 at the time of inspection in June 2022 to 91 in February 2023. The waiting list …

AN Ennis doctor who helped save the life of a hurling fan after he collapsed in a busy Dublin train station has modestly told us, “I think there was a lot of luck involved and I was in the right place at the right time.” Dr Carly Lewis, who is originally from the Tulla Road in Ennis, sprang into action and performed CPR on the man who is in his 70s after discovering he had no pulse. Fortunately he is now doing well, and following the experience Dr Lewis is appealing to the public to get Basic Life Support training saying, “The more people who are trained, the better the outcomes all round”. Dr Lewis was in the Drumcondra train station with her sister having come from watching Clare play Kilkenny in the All Ireland semi-finals in Croke Park when the emergency situation unfolded. She recalls they were about to get on the train when she noticed a commotion on …