Tag Archives: regional hospital

A West Clare  woman  had what she described as a “dreadful” experience at the University of Limerick Hospital last week.  Originally from Kilkee but now living in Lahasheeda, Mary Dillon, who underwent treatment for breast cancer in June 2013, recently had related health issues. “In the last four weeks, my breast got inflamed. I was on antibiotics for a week,” she explained. Last year, Mary, who, along with her husband, is a retired teacher, received six weeks of radiotherapy treatment in Limerick, although her surgery was in Galway. Following treatment from her GP, Mary was advised to attend UL hospital in Limerick last Tuesday week. “I was there at 3.20pm, in the Surgical Assessment Unit, and I got a bed at 7.10pm. In the meantime, I had a few examinations. I gave urine samples and they took my temperature. All the routine stuff,” she explained. In preparation for surgery the following day, Mary was put on an intravenous drip. Having …

Ann Doherty, the chief executive of the University of Limerick Hospitals Group, has told The Clare Champion of her “upset” at instances where people attending the emergency department in Limerick experience “reduced privacy and dignity.” Ms Doherty was responding to the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) report, published last Friday, which highlighted a number of patient safety risks in the hospital group. One of the areas pinpointed in the report was the negative impact arising from overcrowding at the emergency department in University Hospital Limerick. “It impeded access to patients for care and observation, reduced privacy and dignity, increased the risk of transmission of infection and prevented adequate cleaning of the department,” the report read. “It upsets me and I have said that,” Ann Doherty commented. “Dignity and respect is a very important value for me as a human being, for me as a practitioner and for us as an organisation. Our emergency department, in its current state because …

The conditions experienced by patients attending the Emergency Department in University Hospital Limerick are unacceptable, a new report published this Friday by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has found. The report also highlights a number of patient safety risks in the hospital group, which must be addressed as a priority. HIQA’s report of the review of the governance arrangements as reflected in the safety, quality and standards of services at UL Hospitals found a clear willingness to change and improve services for the public, but that the absence of a statutory governance framework is hindering the development of strong governance and patient safety functions. HIQA’s director of regulation, Phelim Quinn said, “Since the findings in 2009 of HIQA’s investigation into the quality and safety of hospital services in Ennis Hospital, there has been an extensive and positive journey of reconfiguration and reorganisation in the catchment area covered by UL Hospitals. Substantial governance and operational changes have occurred and …