Tag Archives: Professor Brian Lenehan

A County Clare man has claimed the UL Hospitals Group hasn’t prepared for the cold weather after his “frozen” 86-year-old father, who has dementia, was forced to wear his coat in an old ward at University Hospital Limerick (UHL). After spending almost three days on a trolley, the elderly man was transferred to a Ward 4 C in the old part of UHL on Saturday of December 3 at 11pm. “My father, who has dementia had to wear his coat in a hospital bed during the cold weather. Because my father is elderly, he feels the cold more than other people. He doesn’t have blankets, he only has a sheet and a blue cover. You need about ten blue covers to equal one blanket.” The man, who has opted to remain anonymous for family reasons, recalled when he visited his father the next day, he found he was “frozen”. After discovering the two radiators close to his father’s bed were …

THE Chief Clinical Director of the UL Hospitals’ Group has poured cold water on the proposed return of 24-hour emergency cover to Ennis Hospital and other Model Two acute facilities, despite a petition from a local lobby group that is supported by 15,000 signatures. The Mid-West Hospital Campaign has sent a petition calling for the restoration of round the clock casualty cover in Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s Hospitals to the Dáil’s Petitions’ Committee after this was controversially removed for safety reasons in April 2009. In an extensive interview with the Clare Champion, Professor Brian Lenehan doesn’t support any move to have another ED in the Mid-West, despite the fact the group is the only one along the western seaboard that doesn’t have a Model Three Hospital. “I fundamentally believe as part of the additional bed stock we need a scheduled care hospital. “That could be a new development or the development of one of our existing hospitals, but I …

PATIENTS are left to “wallow” in pain on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick for long periods after they are assessed, a local Dáil deputy has claimed. Having attended the ED recently with a family member, Deputy Cathal Crowe told a recent Dáil Health Committee meeting there isn’t enough follow up with patients who are left waiting in corridors. “Charts and extensive data can be seen by someone going to the toilet or the shop, people going into see their relatives can see patients with bedpans. There is no privacy there. There is very few people who come along with a cup of tea or a slice of toast to perk patients up.” “There is enduring pain when you are sitting on a trolley. People feel from triage to trolley, you are left to wallow.” Professor Brian Lenehan said UHL are focusing on providing privacy and dignity for patients following the HIQA report. He explained patients are triaged for care based …

THE number of public patients waiting for an out-patient appointment in the Mid-West increased by 18.5% over a three-year period, new figures have revealed. Like all hospital groups, chief clinical director, Professor Brian Lenehan acknowledged the UL Hospitals’ Group saw an increase in its out-patient waiting list (OPD) from 46,675 in 2019 to 55,350 in 2021 due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. “The UL Hospitals’ Group represents about 9% of all healthcare activity in the country and the current waiting list is reflective of that.” In an online media briefing, he said there was a 19.5% increase in the number of patients awaiting OPD first consultation between 2019 and 2020 of more than 9,000 patients. The biggest effect on waiting lists can be seen for patients waiting 18 months or longer for their first out-patients clinic visit due to the reduction in the number of clinics due to Covid-19 outbreaks and social distancing. He said the focus for …

  UNVACCINATED Clare people can get a Covid-19 vaccine in another series of scheduled walk-in vaccination clinis in the Mid-West over the coming days.   Clinics for Pfizer/BioNtech Dose 1 and 2, and second doses only of Moderna, have been scheduled across the centres this weekend. They the Abbey Court, Nenagh from 3 to 6pm on Friday, September for Moderna Dose 2 and the Limerick Racecourse from 4 to 7pm. Pfizer Dose 1 and 2 is available in the Limerick Racecourse from 4 to 7pm; and Treacy’s West County, Ennis from 4 to 7pm.. On Saturday, Pfizer Dose 1 and 2 will be available in the Limerick Racecourse from 8.30 am to 5.30pm, the Abbey Court Nenagh 8.30 a, to 5pm, Treacy’s West County 8.30a, to 5pm. On Sunday, Pfizer Dose 1 and 2 will be available in the Limerick Racecourse 8.30 am to 5pm, Abbey Court Nenagh from 8.30am to 5pm and Treacy’s West County Ennis from 8.30am to …

HSE chiefs in the Midwest have issued a warning over the impact of a possible third wave of Covid-19 on service delivery in the region. “This Christmas has to be different,” Dr Mai Mannix, Director of Public Health in the Midwest told members of the local authority. “The next couple of weeks are so important and will determine what happens in January, which is always tough anyway in terms of healthcare. We are appealing to people to reduce their social contacts immediately. Keep washing your hands and keeping social distance.” Dr Mannix also said there were far too many instances where people were sick and still turning up at work. “This cannot continue,” she said. Professor Brian Lenehan, Chief Clinical Director said that University Limerick Hospitals Group (ULHG) could not rule out having to cancel elective procedures in January. He said the acute hospitals were preparing for a possible Covid spike in the New Year. “January is always a challenging …

DESPITE a number of upgrades, Ennis General Hospital won’t see its former status return, and will remain a Model 2 facility, the Chief Clinical Director of the UL Hospitals Group (ULHG) has said. Professor Brian Lenehan told a briefing for local authority members that while new operating theatres are planned for the site in the county town, they won’t change the status of the facility within the hospitals group. He noted progress in a number of areas at Ennis General, including a new outpatient department which is now equipped and set to open in the first quarter of next year. “We will increase the range of services available in Ennis over the course of the year,” Professor Lenehan said. “The Medical Assessment Unit (MAU) and the Local Injuries Unit (LIU) will see upgrades. The MAU is now open seven days a week and sees 32 patients a day. University Hospital Limerick (UHL) would struggle without it.” Professor Lenehan described the …