Tag Archives: Mid-West Hospital campaign

CLARE patients who are concerned about persistent high levels of overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) have been urged to support another protest – “Drive To Save Lives” this Saturday. Hot on the heels of a demonstration outside UHL coinciding with the visit of Health Minister Stephen Donnelly (FF) on Thursday, the Mid-West Hospital Campaign has organised a vehicle convoy to drive home the message that one Emergency Department (ED) is not enough for the region. This latest protest marks 15 years since the controversial removal of 24-hour casualty cover from Ennis, Nenagh, and St John’s Hospital on April 6, 2009. There will be a convoy leaving Ennis at 11am. Clare Marts complex has allowed participants to gather in their car park from 10.45am. The vehicle convoy will leave Ennis and travel the old road via Clarecastle and Newmarket on Fergus to Limerick City. It will converge with the Limerick and Tipperary convoys at the main assembly point near St …

THOUSANDS of hospital protesters bowed their heads in silence in a show of support for the family of a Shannon teenager who died in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) before Christmas. You could hear a pin drop when Melanie Sheehan requested a minute silence to mark the tragic death of Aoife Johnston during protest speeches at Arthur’s Quay car park on Saturday. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar recently requested a new inquiry into Aoife’s hospital treatment after she contracted meningitis to ascertain if her untimely death could have been prevented. Her death sent shock waves throughout the Mid-West. Hospital activists are hoping her untimely passing will prove a watershed moment in their campaign to tackle overcrowding in the region. UHL has promised a “comprehensive investigation” into the circumstances which led up to Aoife’s death. Young family members and friends of Aoife held up framed photographs of her as they listened to speeches calling for the restoration of 24-hour Accident and Emergency services in …

A HOSPITAL rally organiser has vowed last Saturday’s march in Limerick is only the beginning of a “campaign of people power” that will force change in the delivery of regional health care. Mike Daly, who organised the protest with the help of the Mid-West Hospital Campaign, said he hoped this rally would result in the HSE reopening the three EDs in Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s. “For 14 years we have watched as they closed our ED, robbed us of hospital beds and watched our people die on trolleys. Well no more, the time has come for change because we deserve better. “Our health system deserves enough workers so it can operate properly. Our elderly deserve better than to lie on a cold, hard trolley. Our young people don’t deserve to die from neglect. “Today, we march for our families, our children and mothers and fathers. When my own father died, it was from one of the most serious cases …

CLARE people have been urged to attend a protest march in Limerick to highlight the impact of persistent overcrowding in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) on January 21. Noeleen Moran of the Mid West Hospital Campaign has requested Clare sporting organisations, community groups and individuals to attend this demonstration, which starts at Merchant’s Quay at 11am. “We need a strong Clare presence at this march to get our message across that 24-hour casualty cover needs to be returned to Ennis and Nenagh Hospitals.” She believes the recent HSE acknowledgement about the danger posed by overcrowding is a direct result of the work of campaigners such as Marie McMahon from Ennistymon among others. “For 82 patients that are left on a trolley for six to eight hours, there is at least one fatality. This increases with the number of hours patients are left waiting. There were at least 77 days when there were more than 82 patients on trolleys in UHL in …

Non-critical patients can now be transferred directly by ambulance to the Medical Assessment Unit in Ennis Hospital as part of a new pilot project to ease chronic overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick. Paramedics were left with no option but to transport all Clare patients directly to UHL via ambulance following the controversial removal of 24-hour casualty cover from Ennis and Nenagh Hospitals in April 2009. The Mid-West Hospital Campaign has been informed this new emergency pathway will be accessible from Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays. The patient must meet agreed clinical criteria and has to be accepted by the MAU physician in Ennis Hospital. The Mid-West Hospital Campaign has welcomed this announcement as a “stepping stone in the right direction” towards its desired objective concerning the return of around the clock emergency cover at Ennis and Nenagh Hospitals. A spokesperson thanked all the people involved in the Friends of Ennis Hospital, “Nenagh …

SIGNIFICANT reductions in elective surgery and outpatient diagnostics will continue in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) over the next month after record high Emergency Department attendances resulted in “dangerous conditions” for patient and staff safety. The UL Hospitals’ Group has admitted planned reductions in scheduled care will continue over the Christmas and New Year period as the group concentrate on inpatients as well as emergency and time-critical care after the busiest weekend ever recorded in the hospital. Responding to Clare Champion queries about the impact of the unprecedented demand on public hospital services, the group outlined work in their operating theatres will be focused on emergency and trauma patients until January 16. It also warned anyone attending the ED with a less than urgent condition is going to face an “exceptionally long wait for treatment” as UHL struggled to cope with 92 patients on trolleys on Monday, 94 on Tuesday and 88 on Wednesday. The INMO has confirmed UHL is the …

HOSPITAL campaigners have claimed there is no major improvement for patients attending the Emergency Department in University Hospital Limerick (UHL), despite the HSE’s “expert intervention”. Clare members of the Mid-West Hospital Campaign participated in a protest outside Ennis Hospital on Monday to highlight the crisis in ED unit. Similar demonstrations also took place in Navan, Drogheda, Cavan, Mullingar, Limerick and Nenagh. The protesters read out some of the recent survey responses from the public following the initiative undertaken by the Mid-West Hospital Campaign. Group member, Noeleen Moran told the Clare Champion they decided to go ahead with this protest, despite subzero temperatures because there is no progress being made to address the crisis at UHL. “The Petitions Committee has not received a response from the Department of Health yet in relation to the group’s petition calling for the upgrading of casualty facilities in the region. “The HSE’s response wasn’t even aware that the Deloitte report was already published and stated …

A NEW petition containing 15,000 signatures supporting the upgrading of acute hospitals in the Mid-West including Ennis Hospital is prompting correspondence between a local lobby group, the UL Hospitals’ Group and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly. A petition submitted by the Mid West Hospital Campaign has been discussed by the Dáil Petition Committee, which sent their proposal to the UL Hospitals’ Group for its views. The Hospital Campaign’s response to the Hospitals’ Group submission is being sent to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and the UHL management by the Dáil Secretariat. The Petition Committee meets fortnightly and will discuss any response the Hospital Campaign’s receives if it is made within the next 14 days. Noeleen Moran of the Mid-West Hospital Campaign said if Ennis Hospital was upgraded with proper investment, it could open a surgical observation unit and it could perform elective procedures. “If Ennis was upgraded to a Model Three facility, it could do elective procedures and have a functioning emergency …