Tag Archives: patients

Strict visiting restrictions remain in place at University Hospital Limerick following an outbreak of influenza. As of 1pm on Tuesday, December 20, there were 10 confirmed cases of seasonal influenza in the hospital. The Health Protection and Surveillance Centre has urged people in high-risk groups to get vaccinated as the number of reported cases of influenza-like illness (ILI) in Ireland has increased in the past week. The figures for the Mid-West are above the national baseline for influenza-like illness. UL Hospitals Group has asked that members of the public respect the current restrictions on visiting at UHL. Visiting is restricted to one person per patient during visiting hours only, 2pm to 4pm and 6pm to 9pm. In recent days the hospital had advised visiting was limited to the critically unwell and to parents of sick children only. The restrictions have been amended in response to feedback from patients/families and in consultation with the infection prevention and control team. It remains …

Strict visiting restrictions remain in place at University Hospital Limerick following an outbreak of influenza. As of 3pm this Friday afternoon there were nine confirmed cases of seasonal influenza in the hospital. In addition there is one confirmed cases of norovirus in the hospital. The Health Protection and Surveillance Centre has this week urged people in high-risk groups to get vaccinated against as the number of reported cases of influenza-like illness (ILI) in Ireland has increased in the past week. UL Hospitals Group has asked that members of the public respect the current restrictions on visiting at UHL. Only those visiting critically unwell patients and parents visiting sick children are unaffected by the restrictions. All other visitors are asked to stay away from the hospital at this time, and in particular the under-16s, those with flu symptoms and those feeling unwell in general. “We regret any inconvenience caused by the restrictions, which are being implemented in the interests of patient …

Clare Deputy Dr Michael Harty has pledged to raise the Shannondoc cutbacks in the county at this week’s session of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health. Dr Harty has acknowledged the changes to the Shannondoc out-of-hours services in Kilrush, Ennistymon and Killaloe are a reduction to the medical cover for patients. He claimed these changes are another manifestation of the mismanagement of the health service and highlighted the failure of the HSE to anticipate and plan for the medical manpower crisis which faces general practice and the wider health service. He said all out-of-hours services are experiencing difficulty in finding locums to supplement local GP rosters. “The working commitment and conditions of service required to work in single handed rural practice are too onerous. Consequently, GP positions are not being filled when they become vacant. The contract underpinning these working conditions is in need of urgent review and renegotiation. “Newly qualified GPs and established GPs are emigrating to work in …

Plans have been unveiled for the provision of a video-based remote doctor service in Kilrush, as efforts intensify to halt cutbacks in the out-of-hours Shannondoc service in West and East Clare. It remains to be seen if this will satisfy campaigners seeking a full restoration of GP out-of-hours services throughout the county. Under a new rationalisation plan, which was supported by doctors at a recent annual general meeting, Shannondoc’s Kilrush and Ennistymon services will relocate to Miltown Malbay during weekdays, with the same operating hours applying. Kilrush and Ennistymon will only now open at weekends until 7pm. Shannondoc is to introduce a video-based remote doctor service at its Kilrush centre, allowing it to remain open nightly for two hours. The new service provides for a remote doctor to connect with the Kilrush clinic via a secure, high-definition video link. Patients will contact Shannondoc as they normally would and a triage nurse will first determine if the patient requires a GP …

THE Mid-West’s out-of-hours GP service, Shannondoc, has confirmed that due to a continued shortage of doctors, it is no longer able to maintain existing out-of-hours service levels across all its centres. Shannondoc, a not-for-profit service delivered by GPs in the region, will introduce changes to its Killaloe, Kilrush and Ennistymon centres over the coming weeks. The Killaloe clinic will open during weekdays only on an as-needs basis, with a mobile doctor servicing the centre, while at weekends the operating hours will change from 9am to 9pm to 2pm to 6pm, with patients seen at Limerick, Ennis and Nenagh centres outside those hours. Shannondoc’s Kilrush and Ennistymon service will relocate to Miltown Malbay during weekdays, with the same operating hours applying. Both centres will be operational on Saturdays and Sundays up to 7pm, instead of 9pm as it is currently. Kilrush county councillor Ian Lynch has called for an immediate public meeting on the issue, noting that the 35-mile journey from …

Active Ennis is giving local people the chance to trial the world’s first Alterg anti-gravity treadmill this Friday in the town centre. This piece of life-changing technology was engineered by NASA and as well as the fun of feeling what it’s like to walk on the moon it has the serious ability to get people moving again much sooner after illness or injury. Users step into the treadmill, the sealed chamber inflates around their waist and fills with air. Therapists can then select a percentage of bodyweight to take off the patient by adjusting the air pressure, allowing them to move without the burden of gravity on their lower limbs. John Carey, Duty Gym Manager at Active Ennis, the only facility in the county with an anti-gravity treadmill said: “We have been using our treadmill on a wide range of patients who have all experienced a quicker recovery time. The treadmill enables us to get our patients moving a lot …

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 …

THE Health Service Executive is to lodge a planning application in the coming weeks for the construction of an extension to Raheen Community Hospital to include six single rooms, one double room with en-suites and a new patient sitting area. The HSE publicised its intention to seek planning permission on Thursday and, commenting on the proposed development, Labour TD, Michael McNamara has said it is “a crucial first step in bringing the community hospital up to HIQA standards”. He said the extension, if granted, will ensure greater comfort and care for the patients in this highly-regarded facility. “The planning application has been expected for a long time but I believe that recent modifications to the plans, based on work carried out at Ennistymon and Kilrush community hospitals, will make for a better outcome at Raheen. “It is proposed to construct a new single-storey extension to include six single and one double bedrooms, all with en-suite facilities. The proposal to include …