Home » Tag Archives: HSE (page 18)

Tag Archives: HSE

New Regional Health Area will transform Clare healthcare delivery – Deputy Carey

  IT HAS been claimed that the establishment of a new Mid West regional health area will transform the delivery of healthcare in Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary. That’s the view of Clare Fine Gael TD Joe Carey who said that the establishment of six new regional health areas will result in clear financial and performance accountability. “This is a key step in delivering Sláintecare and is another step towards a vital reform of our health service. It will empower frontline staff and devolve authority from the HSE to the local regions. “These proposals will help shape the future of healthcare in this country and will give the staff, and more importantly, communities a greater role in the delivery of health. “The reform will see the establishment of six new regional health areas and will radically change the way we deliver health care,” said Deputy Carey. The proposed six regional health areas are based on population data, including how people …

Read More »

New Site For St Joseph’s Hospital

A SITE has been secured for the construction of a new €25 million St Joseph’s Hospital in Ennis. The construction of the 100-bed, community nursing unit on five acres of Diocesan lands located near the Turnpike in Ennis will ensure that elderly care services remain at the heart of the county town, according to Minister of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection, Pat Breen. Deputy Breen said, “I am delighted that a site has been secured at this central location in Ennis for the construction of the new €25 million St Joseph’s Hospital. The sale of the 5.09 acres of land remains subject to planning permission for the development of the 100 bed Community Nursing Unit, but I believe the site provides the best option following the appraisal of a number of sites in the Ennis environs by the HSE. “The new state-of-the-art St Joseph’s Hospital building has been prioritised in the HSE Capital …

Read More »

Hospital Choir Sings Out for Staff Wellbeing

THE Healthy Harmony Choir was formed by a group of medical practitioners at Ennis Hospital as a way to unwind and de-stress after a busy day’s work and now two years on, the 30-strong group are singing its praises in terms of its impact on their well-being. Brenda Bleach, a registered advanced nurse practitioner at Ennis Hospital, is one of the choir members and has been involved with the choir since it began. She explained how it got off the ground and why it has become such a popular outlet for staff across the entire UL Hospitals Group. “We started off as staff from Ennis Hospital and we are two years old now. The first year one of the nurses was interested in singing and always wanted a choir, so I ran it by health and wellbeing and asked if it was something we could look at. We started the choir and we didn’t initially have funding. We had paid …

Read More »

Clare Creche Closed Due to E. Coli Outbreak

A COUNTY Clare créche has been forced to close its doors after a number of cases of E.coli were detected. In a statement issued to The Clare Champion today [Friday] the HSE has confirmed that it has been necessary to temporarily close a créche in the county as a result of a number of linked cases of Verotoxigenic E. coli (VTEC) infection being detected at the childcare facility. This they say has been done “in accordance with national guidance*, and with the agreement of the crèche management, in order to break the cycle of transmission of infection among the children”. It is understood that the West Clare based crèche is temporarily closed pending screening of all children and staff for VTEC. Parents have been advised that should their child develop diarrhoea, especially bloody diarrhoea, they should seek medical attention from their general practitioner or Shannondoc at 1850 212 999. VTEC usually requires no specific treatment other than ensuring plenty of …

Read More »
shannondoc

HSE defends Shannondoc despite audit criticism

DESPITE an independent auditor’s report claiming Shannondoc had not operated “a robust enough system of internal controls”, the HSE has defended the service and said it is in compliance with the terms under which it receives millions of euro each year. Shannondoc is the out-of hours medical service to residents of the Mid-West. It significantly reduced services in Kilrush, Ennistymon and Killaloe in 2016. On Sunday, a protest march in Ennis at 3pm will highlight cuts to Shannondoc in Clare, along with seeking the restoration of a 24-hour Emergency Department in Ennis. Shannondoc recently filed its accounts for 2017 and, in these, Neil W Mulcahy of Limerick- based MGM Accountants wrote, “In our opinion, the company did not operate a robust enough system of internal controls during the period, leading to inadequate control over the purchasing and outsourcing functions”. He added, “This lack of control meant that we were unable to conduct a proper audit of regularity within the purchasing …

Read More »

“You’re supposed to learn from mistakes” Frustration after councillors meet hospital representatives

THE failures of University Hospital Limerick, which recently broke Irish records for patients waiting on trolleys; was the background to a behind closed doors meeting between UL Hospitals representatives CEO Colette Cowan, Chief Clinical Director Paul Burke and Clare County Council on Monday. Councillor Tom McNamara was one of those who attended but he didn’t accept all that he was told. “They outlined the reason for the overcrowding, they said there was an MRI scanner down and they need a second one. They said that 25 beds extra were opened up when the 17 closed, which we found hard to believe. You know in your heart and soul if 25 beds were going up in Limerick Regional Hospital, there’d be a big fanfare. From what we can gather from below, there weren’t 25 beds open. How come if there were 25 beds opened, when the 17 closed, the numbers on trolleys jumped up to 81?” A few years ago the …

Read More »

HSE failures continue 10 years on

TEN years ago this month, 24- hour emergency department services in Ennis closed and services in the region were reconfigured, despite dire warnings that the HSE’s new plan would not work and could, in fact, prove disastrous. When one looks back at the reports from that time, it is very striking how prescient the people who made the objections were but even they surely could not have believed that things would be so bad so long later. On Monday, Clare County Council passed a motion of no confidence in Minister Simon Harris, after 81 people were left on trolleys at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) last Wednesday. In The Clare Champion of April 3, 2009, Clare TD Pat Breen opposed the new acute model and, at the time, he felt far more moderate figures were also terrible. “Patients have been left on trolleys for extended periods. There were 17 people on trolleys in Limerick on Tuesday and 28 people on Monday,” …

Read More »

HPV campaigner Laura Brennan dies

HPV vaccine campaigner Laura Brennan has lost her battle with terminal cancer on Wednesday. The Ennis woman who had become one of Ireland’s leading patient advocates and campaigners for the HPV vaccine passed away on Wednesday at University Hospital Limerick. In a statement the Brennan family said, “Laura was a light in the life of everyone who knew her; a wonderful daughter, sister and friend. We are lost without her. “We are all incredibly proud of the work she did in the last 18 months to help protect other young women like herself from the cancer that has taken her life today. Laura used her voice, her generosity and her energy to help parents to make informed choices and protect their daughters from cervical cancer. She wanted to make a difference, and use the time that she had to right what she felt was a great wrong.” The family have appealed for privacy. Funeral arrangements are yet to be finalised. …

Read More »