Tag Archives: Professor Colette Cowan

UL Hospitals Group, Chief Executive Officer, Professor Colette Cowan has apologised to every patient that has experienced excessive wait times or a poor care environment in UHL. Professor Cowan made the apology during a three-hour discussion between senior officials in the UL Hospitals Group, national HSE officials and Mid-West Oireachtas representatives during a joint Health Committee meeting in Dublin on Wednesday. Responding to Deputy Maurice Quinlivan’s question about what management was doing to relieve chronic waiting times in the UHL emergency department, shr said, “We don’t feel comfortable about patients waiting for treatment in the ED, but it is a capacity issue. “We have looked at developments in our community and are developing the Enhanced Community Care Programme, which will create alternatives for elderly people, apart from the ED. “UHL is a very busy hospital. All our patients tell us the care is good, the difficulty is getting through the ED door. We need another second 96-bed block, which would …

AS the 14-day incidence of Covid-19 continues to fall in Clare, the UL Hospitals’ Group has confirmed it has treated 1,241 confirmed cases over a one-year period. According to figures produced by the National Disease Surveillance Centre, there were 533 cases recorded in Limerick, 167 in Clare and 306 in Tipperary from February 16 to March 1. However, the number of Covid-19 cases in the Mid-West dropped from February 23 to March 8, with 401 cases recorded in Limerick, 215 in Tipperary and 129 in Clare. The 14-day incidence in Limerick fell from fourth to sixth highest in the country at 205%, compared to Tipperary, which is 14th highest on 134% and Clare is the 15th highest on 108% recently. The national 14-day incidence of the disease was 161% at the time. One year since the first Covid-19-related admission to University Hospital Limerick, the group has confirmed 64 patients required admission to ICU over a 12-month period. Group chief executive, …

SOME patient-facing health care workers employed in the UL Hospitals’ Group still haven’t received the first dose of the vaccine against Covid-19 earlier this week. That’s according to assistant director of industrial relations, Mary Fogarty, who told The Clare Champion some health care staff are pleading with their managers to get the vaccine. “This is a huge priority issue to protect people. It is a matter of concern for our members that they have not been prioritised and other employees have received the vaccine who are not patient-facing.” She said there is now a HSE portal that should be able to prioritise patient-facing employees. In a recent memo to public representatives, group chief executive officer, Professor Colette Cowan stated the group continue to issue as much vaccine as possible, in line with national guidance and based on availability of vaccines and clinical prioritisation. “The group recognise the anxiety experienced by unvaccinated staff during the current surge in Covid-19 activity, and …

UP to 25 patients will be brought to a new Intermediate Care Facility (ICF) in the University of Limerick (UL) Sports Arena in its first week of operation thanks to a unique collaboration between UL and the UL Hospitals’ Group. Constructed at a cost of €1 million, all the equipment for the new field hospital in UL was provided by the HSE and all of its contains including the floor are reusable elsewhere. The ICF is a fully staffed and fully equipped Model One hospital facility that will provide rehabilation care for non-Covid patients who are discharged from acute public hospitals in the region. The 68-bed facility, with capacity to scale up to 84 beds, is fitted out with a typical ward support accommodation such as clean and dirty utilities, pharmacy, pantry, staff change, clinical treatment areas, two recreation areas, and four enclosed rooms. It is expected that up to 50 patients will be treated at peak demand with capacity …

IRELAND’S largest and most advanced emergency department has opened today (Monday) at University Hospital Limerick. A €24 million project spans 3,850 square metres of floor space, over three times the size of the old department. In 2016, UHL had the busiest emergency department in the country, with over 64,000 attendances. Almost 100 additional staff have been recruited to work in the emergency department, which has increased capacity for patients and has been designed with the input of senior clinicians to improve patient flow, reduce patient experience times (PET) and improve outcomes for the sickest patients. The new emergency department features the most advanced diagnostic equipment of any such facility in Ireland or the UK, including a c. €1 million, 128-slice CT scanner which is mounted on a track to minimise the movement of the sickest patients in resuscitation. The facility is separated into different pods and zones, allowing for paediatric patients, major cases, minor cases etc to be treated separately, …

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 …