Tag Archives: UHL

UL Hospitals Group has “sincerely apologised” to patients facing long waits Emergency Department (ED) during busy periods. On Friday there were 75 patients on trolleys, compared to 81 on Thursday. “The Emergency Department at UHL continues to be one of the busiest in the country. There has been a surge in presentations to Emergency Departments this week. We have been working hard to progress patients through the system to discharge, so that we can free up beds for the patients in the Emergency Department who are awaiting admission. Surgery at UHL has been curtailed over the last number of days to enable us to use that bed capacity for patients in the Emergency Department,” the group said in a statement issued on Friday. “Access to transitional care and home care package funding has been reduced over the past two weeks, which has led to an increase in delayed discharges. However, we continue to work with our community colleagues to progress transition …

THE Friends of Ennis Hospital/Shannondoc group are planning a protest for Sunday, May 5, at 3pm. The group also say that some 2,000 people have signed its petition, looking for full A&E services in Ennis to be restored. Sunday’s protest is one of three planned across the region in the coming days, as public anger about the trolley crisis at University Hospital Limerick continues. “Our friends in Nenagh are arranging a protest on Friday, May 3, we will be sending representatives to Nenagh to lend our support. There is a protest planned for 1pm on Saturday, May 4 at City Hall, Limerick in relation to the ongoing crisis in UHL and we are sending a speaker to that meeting too. “We have several speakers lined up for Sunday who have personal experience of the horrors of UHL’s emergency department. We will also be reading into the public record a list of the local election candidates who have refused to sign …

THE clinical directors of the UL Hospitals Group have written an open letter to the people of the Mid-West, in which they call for “a great collaborative effort”, to improve services in the region. The standard of service provided to the people of the Mid- West has been under fire in recent weeks, after record-breaking numbers on trolleys were recorded at University Hospital Limerick (UHL). From Monday to Thursday this week, more patients were waiting for a bed at UHL than at any other Irish hospital. The letter states, “In recent years, our main acute hospital, UHL, has experienced serious challenges in providing enough inpatient beds for the acutely-ill patients that have presented to our Emergency Department (ED). These shortages have led to unacceptable numbers of elderly and frail patients waiting for far too long in the ED for a bed in the hospital. “The experience of some of these patients has been very bad. We profoundly regret that this …

THE failures of University Hospital Limerick, which recently broke Irish records for patients waiting on trolleys; was the background to a behind closed doors meeting between UL Hospitals representatives CEO Colette Cowan, Chief Clinical Director Paul Burke and Clare County Council on Monday. Councillor Tom McNamara was one of those who attended but he didn’t accept all that he was told. “They outlined the reason for the overcrowding, they said there was an MRI scanner down and they need a second one. They said that 25 beds extra were opened up when the 17 closed, which we found hard to believe. You know in your heart and soul if 25 beds were going up in Limerick Regional Hospital, there’d be a big fanfare. From what we can gather from below, there weren’t 25 beds open. How come if there were 25 beds opened, when the 17 closed, the numbers on trolleys jumped up to 81?” A few years ago the …

TEN years ago this month, 24- hour emergency department services in Ennis closed and services in the region were reconfigured, despite dire warnings that the HSE’s new plan would not work and could, in fact, prove disastrous. When one looks back at the reports from that time, it is very striking how prescient the people who made the objections were but even they surely could not have believed that things would be so bad so long later. On Monday, Clare County Council passed a motion of no confidence in Minister Simon Harris, after 81 people were left on trolleys at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) last Wednesday. In The Clare Champion of April 3, 2009, Clare TD Pat Breen opposed the new acute model and, at the time, he felt far more moderate figures were also terrible. “Patients have been left on trolleys for extended periods. There were 17 people on trolleys in Limerick on Tuesday and 28 people on Monday,” …

This week we discuss why Shannon Airport is still struggling years after Leo Varadkar’s plan for recovery, the impact of Brexit on Clare and the US military veterans before the courts.

UL Hospitals Group is appealing to members of the public to consider all their care options before presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) at UHL. There has been a surge in presentations to Emergency Departments around the country in recent days and the ED at UHL is currently managing high volumes of patients including significant volumes of frail elderly patients with chronic conditions and complex care needs. “UL Hospitals apologises for any inconvenience caused to patients or their loved ones who have experienced long wait times in the ED at UHL, and we would like to reassure patients and their families that we are working to alleviate the situation,” the group said in a statement on Wednesday. “Members of the public are urged to consider all their care options at this time and not to attend the Emergency Department unless necessary.  Injury Units in St John’s, Ennis and Nenagh hospitals are open for appropriate injuries. Injury Units are open in …

A free public information evening on prostate cancer will take place on Tuesday, April 9 at 5pm in the South Court Hotel, Limerick. Staff from UL Hospitals Group and the Mid-Western Radiation Oncology Centre will discuss prostate cancer and potential treatment options. Speakers on the evening are to include: Dr Nemeer Osman, Consultant Medical Oncologist, University Hospital Limerick Dr Mazen El Bassiouni, Consultant Radiation Oncologist, Mid-Western Radiation Oncology Centre Dr Jody Khan, Specialist Registrar in Urology, UL Hospitals Group Members of the public who attend the information evening will leave with a better understanding of what to expect in the prostate cancer journey. Patients, along with friends and family, are welcome to attend. Approximately 300 men currently attend for ongoing care for prostate cancer in the UL Hospitals Group. The National Cancer Strategy recognises the importance of public engagement.  Feedback from men from the MidWest who have undergone at least one line of treatment for prostate cancer has shown that patients would …