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Home » Tag Archives: The UL Hospitals’ Group

Tag Archives: The UL Hospitals’ Group

Son of ‘frozen’ dementia patient says UHL unprepared for weather

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 …

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Dementia patient walks out of UHL as trolley figures hit 118

AN elderly patient suffering from dementia went missing following admittance to University Hospital Limerick amid claims “Groundhog Day” had arrived for staff and patients with 118 people left on trolleys earlier this week. Limerick Deputy Maurice Quinlivan has revealed on Monday he was contacted by the family of an elderly patient who suffers from dementia. “This elderly woman who had been admitted to the hospital the night before was discovered to be missing on Monday morning. Thankfully she was found by the Gardaí two hours after she had left the hospital. “The family advised that while security could stop them from entering the hospital, nobody noticed this woman exiting her ward, the hospital building or the hospital grounds. “I have subsequently been contacted by other families who have highlighted similar stories about their loved ones. Frontline staff at the hospital can only do so much but they are burned out and lacking bed capacity,” he said. The UL Hospitals’ Group …

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New Restrictions At Maternity Hospital After Covid-19 Outbreak

ADDITIONAL infection control measures have been put in place at University Maternity Hospital Limerick following an outbreak of Covid-19. Access for nominated support partners to hospital inpatient wards is being limited to one two-hour slot per day between the hours of 2pm and 8pm. These slots will be co-ordinated at ward level by our staff, who will link directly with service users and nominated support partners. The UL Hospitals’ Group recognise that this represents a considerable reduction in access on their inpatient wards. The hospital will facilitate additional access for inpatients on compassionate grounds on a case-by-case basis where these restrictions are causing considerable distress. It is committed to increasing access for partners on inpatient wards as soon as possible. An online system is available for nominated support partners to complete a Covid-19 questionnaire in advance of attending the hospital. The group also encourage partners to consider taking an antigen test in advance of attending UMHL should they have one …

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Outpatient appointment cancellations in Limerick extended to Wednesday

UL Hospitals Group is extending today’s one-day cancellation of all but the most time-critical outpatient appointments at University Hospital Limerick, and some elective surgery at St John’s Hospital and UHL, until this Wednesday, October 20. Patients who are directly affected by these cancellations are being contacted by UL Hospitals Group, and will be rescheduled at the earliest opportunity. Outpatient appointments at Ennis, Nenagh, Croom and University Maternity Hospital Limerick are unaffected by the decision. Emergency care will also continue through the Emergency Department (ED) in UHL, and the Injury Units in Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s Hospitals will remain open. Services that are unaffected by these cancellations and will continue are: Cancer Clinics; Rapid Access Lung Clinics; Rapid Access Prostate Clinics; Rapid Access Breast Clinics; Nurse led Heart Failure and Cardiac Rehab; Day-case Angiograms; Acute Fracture Clinic, UHL; Endoscopy Clinics; Eye Clinic; ENT Clinic; Endocrinology Clinic; Dermatology Clinic and Vascular Laboratory Clinic. Patients with an appointment at these specific clinics …

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Hospital staff saddle up for cycle in memory of Covid-19 victims

ICU consultant Dr Catherine Motherway will be joined by frontline colleagues from University Hospital Limerick this Thursday in the local effort of a national fundraising cycle to commemorate those who have lost their lives to Covid-19. Dr Motherway urged the people of Limerick, Clare and Tipperary to support the ICU4U Memorial Charity Cycle, which aims to raise €150,000 for charity partners working with people impacted by the secondary challenges of the pandemic. The UHL team of frontline healthcare workers, some accompanied with family and partners, includes Eileen and Paddy O Neill, Anne Calitz, Mary Sexton, Vera Leahy, Hanin Hamza, David Murphy, Debbie and DJ Hayes, and Donal Ryan, as well as Catherine Motherway and Christy Curley. The four charity partners of this year’s ICU4U Memorial Charity Cycle are ALONE (supporting older people); Aware (mental health supports); Aware NI (depression supports in Northern Ireland) and Breakthrough Cancer Research (new treatments for poor prognosis and difficult to treat cancers). Tweet below features …

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Anger as Clare patients set for longer ‘elective surgery’ waits

PUBLIC patients in Clare look set to face even longer waiting times following another series of elective cancellations, which has prompted stinging criticism from Deputy Violet Anne-Wynne, writes Dan Danaher. The number of patients on public in-patient waiting lists in the Mid-West has increased from 4,798 in January 2020 to 6,569 in May 2021. There has also been a worrying rise in the number of outpatients waiting to be treated, which is up from 47,134 in January 2020 to 50,363 in May 2021. In a hard-hitting statement issued to The Clare Champion, Deputy Wynne, claimed University Hospital Limerick (UHL)has been the most overcrowded hospital in Ireland every day this year. “It has had the highest overall number of patients waiting for care without beds in each consecutive year since 2017. Despite additional recruitment and over 100 extra beds, it still faces runaway overcrowding. “University Hospital Limerick has been accommodating the highest number of people on trolleys for many months in …

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10,000 Medical Appointments And Procedures Cancelled Due To Cyber Attack

Up to 10,000 scheduled public medical appointments and procedures have been cancelled in the Mid-West following the devastating cyber attack on the HSE’s information technology systems. The UL Hospitals’ Group has warned widespread service disruption will continue into a fourth week due to the impact of the criminal cyber attack. In a statement issued to the Clare Champion, the group confirmed it is working hard with local and national teams to restore information technology systems. Systems are being restored based on clinical priority and progress will be gradual. To date, approximately 10,000 patients have had scheduled appointments or procedures cancelled and outpatient appointments and elective surgeries remain cancelled until further notice. Record numbers have been attending the Emergency Department at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) this week and less urgent patients are being advised to expect delays and to consider alternative options to access healthcare before attending ED. Service disruptions continue in University Hospital Limerick, University Maternity Hospital, Limerick, Ennis Hospital, …

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‘Nothing happens without nurses we are the most flexible workforce’

In our second installment of our ‘Day in the Life’ series, Dan Danaher speaks with Ennis Hospital’s Director of Nursing Patricia O’Gorman EVERYONE took nurses for granted before the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Ennis Hospital director of nursing, Patricia O’Gorman. Patricia believes there is now a greater appreciation of what nurses do after they upskilled, redeployed into different roles, moved six and seven times into different departments and counties, moved from day to night duty and travelled countless miles to work She would love to see a nursing representative in the National Public Health Emergency Team. “Nothing happens without nurses. We are the biggest and most flexible workforce,” she explains. She acknowledges there were some positive developments during the pandemic such as the provision of three isolation bays in the Ennis Medical Assessment Unit. “There was huge gratitude for health care workers. There was a lot of learning. A lot of nurses and clinicians were upskilled. There was a sense …

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