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Tag Archives: Mary Fogarty INMO

New Record Of 130 Patients On Trolleys At UHL

As University Hospital Limerick (UHL) achieves a new record-breaking 130 patients on trolleys, a nursing union has claimed the provision of safe and timely care is “impossible”. INMO Assistant Director for Industrial Relations for the Midwest, Mary Fogarty said the latest record, which was reached on Monday, comes as no surprise to her members who have been working in overcrowded and understaffed wards with no reprieve for years on end. “The fact that there are more patients on trolleys across the hospital itself than in the emergency department itself is making the provision of safe and timely care impossible. Patient flow out of the emergency department is proving difficult because of the sheer volume of trolleys across the hospital. “Our members are burnt out and demoralised as a direct result of their working conditions. It is impossible for them to provide safe care in a working environment that is persistently dangerous. “INMO members in the hospital met last week to …

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Dementia patient walks out of UHL as trolley figures hit 118

AN elderly patient suffering from dementia went missing following admittance to University Hospital Limerick amid claims “Groundhog Day” had arrived for staff and patients with 118 people left on trolleys earlier this week. Limerick Deputy Maurice Quinlivan has revealed on Monday he was contacted by the family of an elderly patient who suffers from dementia. “This elderly woman who had been admitted to the hospital the night before was discovered to be missing on Monday morning. Thankfully she was found by the Gardaí two hours after she had left the hospital. “The family advised that while security could stop them from entering the hospital, nobody noticed this woman exiting her ward, the hospital building or the hospital grounds. “I have subsequently been contacted by other families who have highlighted similar stories about their loved ones. Frontline staff at the hospital can only do so much but they are burned out and lacking bed capacity,” he said. The UL Hospitals’ Group …

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Nursing Union Seek Inquiry Into Overcrowding At UHL

A NURSING union has requested the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) to conduct an external inquiry to establish why overcrowding is so high in University Hospital Limerick (UHL), despite the provision of almost 100 extra in-patient beds. The nurses and midwives’ union called for HIQA to investigate what is going wrong at the hospital and make recommendations to alleviate pressure. UHL has been the most overcrowded hospital in Ireland every day this year. It had the highest overall number of patients waiting for care without beds in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020. The INMO said that “despite significant recruitment and 100+ additional acute beds”, the hospital still faced “runaway” overcrowding. On Friday, 52 patients were on trolleys in UHL, more than treble the number in any other hospital in the state. INMO Assistant Director of Industrial Relations, Mary Fogarty, said frontline staff are at their wits’ end. The hospital has recruited extra staff and secured a hundred extra beds. …

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Nurses ballot for industrial action in UHL

ENGAGING in industrial action at the region’s main emergency care facility is “ill-advised” and a step too far, a local doctor has warned. INMO members at UHL commenced a ballot for industrial action on Wednesday over the alleged refusal of hospital management to attend talks at the Workplace Relations Commission. The INMO represents over 1,000 nurses on site who are frustrated at the approach to date by management to resolving the persistent high nurse vacancy rates and other related issues. Among nurses’ concerns are the risks to patients, overcrowding in a COVID-19 environment and excessive workloads arising due to unfilled funded nursing posts in wards, emergency department and theatres. Dr Michael Harty has called on Health Minister Stephen Donnelly to immediately intervene to prevent any threatened withdrawal of labour at University Hospital Limerick (UHL). “Minister Donnelly needs to take the understaffing issue very seriously. He was very strong on this issue when he was opposition spokesman on health. “I can …

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University Hospital Limerick.

Chronic overcrowding at UHL

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has condemned the gross overcrowding and the compromised ability of nurses to provide acceptable and safe care to all patients within University Hospital Limerick. “There is no doubt that the level of overcrowding today with 66 patients on trolleys and on extra beds on wards is unprecedented and is a serious crisis,” remarked INMO Industrial Relations Officer, Mary Fogarty . “INMO members do not accept that management at the hospital are robustly managing all of the available bed capacity to meet the demands of emergency patients who are deemed to need admission. It is incumbent on the management team as an employer and in governing the hospital to ensure that the hospital is safe for staff and patients and this is not the case. This is increasingly worrying for our members as clinical care of patients is compromised and there are high levels of stress being experienced by nurses daily. In recent weeks …

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