Tag Archives: overcrowding

EIGHT frail elderly patients were left on chairs in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) due to chronic overcrowding on Tuesday night, according to a nursing union. The Clare Champion can reveal that some vulnerable elderly patients were reportedly using a bed table to lean on due to the absence of proper facilities amid claims that the situation in the hospital is “unsafe”. The INMO has estimated there are close on 100 nursing vacancies at the hospital as nurses struggle to cope with a surge in activity. Concerns have been expressed about the impact of overcrowding at the hospital after the number of patients on trolleys increased from 62 on Monday to 69 on Tuesday, which was the highest level in the country. This compared to 27 in Sligo University Hospital, which was the second most overcrowded hospital in the country. The UL Hospitals’ Group has cancelled all elective activity and certain diagnostic procedures at UHL from Wednesday to Friday to de-escalate …

OVERCROWDING in University Hospital Limerick now seems inevitable due to new Covid-19 restrictions, a local doctor has warned. The number of patients on trolleys in UHL reached 54 on Thursday, July 2 and Monday, July 6 which was the highest figure for any hospital in the country, according to figures produced by the INMO trolley watch. While the number of patients without beds dropped slightly to 48 on Tuesday, July 7 this was more than double the next highest hospital University College Hospital, Cork, which had 20 and contrasted sharply with Nenagh, Ennis and University Hospital Galway, which had no patients on trolleys. Dr Michael Harty pointed out that while UHL operated at 110% capacity in previous years he could now only run at 80% due to new Covid-19 measures such as social distancing and infection control. “Trolleys will be inevitable. Unless new models of practice are used, we will be back to levels experienced last winter before this year’s …

THE Mayor of Clare has expressed fears that Mid-West outpatient and in-patient waiting lists will increase even further, as a result of the recent overcrowding in local acute hospitals. The UL Hospitals Group has been forced to cancel surgery at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) as a short-term measure to free up beds to deal with overcrowding in the emergency department (ED). Councillor Tom McNamara believes out-patient and in-patient waiting lists will “get worse before they get better”, following the recent widescale cancellations of surgical procedures. “We are talking about the need to tackle waiting lists but nothing is happening. We have become desensitised to seeing thousands of patients on waiting lists. It is unacceptable to have more than 32,000 patients on a waiting list in the Mid-West,” he said. Councillor McNamara has called on the HSE to make people aware of the criteria of the Cross Border Initiative, as a means of tackling large in-patient and out-patient lists in the …

THE failure of the Health Service Executive (HSE) to even mention the provision of a new 96-bed block at University Hospital Limerick in its capital projects plans for 2018 has been described as “mind-boggling” by a Clare TD. Commenting on the publication of the HSE 2018 Service Plan, Deputy Timmy Dooley has expressed his disappointment with the fact there is no reference to the long-awaited new project at UHL under its capital infrastructure section. The only reference to capital projects for UHL concerns the redevelopment of the old emergency department (ED), which the plan states will be completed next year and will be fully operational by the first quarter of 2019. A UL Hospitals’ Group spokesman stated the development of the 96-bed block at UHL has been approved in principle by the HSE, subject to the normal conditions for such public works and subject to future capital funding availability. The spokesman outlined that the first stage of the process is …

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 …

Extra measures are being sought by a nursing union to tackle overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) after the emergency department (ED) recorded the highest number of patients on trolleys earlier this week. According to the INMO Trolley Watch, there were 55 patients on trolleys in wards and the ED in UHL on Tuesday, compared to 46 in Beaumont Hospital. The UHL figure had increased dramatically from 34 on Monday before it reduced to 39 again on Wednesday. INMO industrial relations officer, Liz Curran, urged the HSE to eliminate any red tape that could delay the hiring of an extra 70 nurses for the UHL Hospital Group, so that new nurses can start working as soon as possible. Ms Curran called for an increase in the number of community intervention teams in the region, as she said this would assist with the earlier discharge of patients and would also help reduce the number of patients who require hospitalisation. Nurses in …

HEALTH Minister, Leo Varadkar is coming under increasing pressure to tackle the chronic overcrowding in the emergency department at University Hospital Limerick (UHL). Deputy Timmy Dooley said the HSE has stated the new emergency department (ED) in Limerick will not be fully operational until next year, due to its requirement to comply with national value-for-money procurement procedures. However, he believes the declaration of a national emergency would allow the HSE to set aside procurement procedures for a short period of time, in the interest of patient safety. “Overcrowding should be treated as a national emergency. If people are going to die as a result of the crisis that has emerged, it is obvious the mechanisms delaying the investment benefiting patients need to be set aside. “Work needs to be advanced to open the new ED as quickly as possible. The HSE has stated it will be 2016 before the new fit will be completed, due to procurement procedures, which is …

Two of the largest nursing unions have requested a public inquiry into the reasons behind the gross overcrowding in local emergency departments, particularly at the University Hospital Limerick (UHL). The INMO and SIPTU confirmed that their ballot for industrial action will start on Monday, January 5 in protest to the HSE’s response to chronic and persistent overcrowding at University Hospital, Limerick. Nurses are also up in arms over HSE plans to place additional patients in excess of agreed bed capacity at Ennis and Nenagh hospitals and the transfer of medical patients to Croom Hospital without agreement with the unions. In a statement issued to the Clare Champion, the unions claimed there was a critical shortage of qualified nurses throughout the region with a conservative figure of 70 to 100 additional nurses required immediately on permanent contracts. The unions warned the current escalation plan will present health and safety risks to staff as well as clinical risks to patients. According to …