Tag Archives: UHL

UNIVERSITY Hospital Limerick-based colorectal and general surgeon, Colin Peirce, has been bestowed with one of the most prestigious honours a surgeon in Ireland can receive, when he was chosen to deliver the 43rd annual Millin Lecture for 2020. A significant event in the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland calendar, the Millin Lecture is traditionally delivered during the college’s annual Millin Meeting each November, before an audience of hundreds of surgeons from all across Ireland. This year, in line with public health guidance on social and physical distancing, Mr Peirce had to pre-record the 43rd Millin Lecture, for online transmission during the college’s virtually hosted 2020 Millin Meeting, as part of the 2021 Charter Day Meetings. Distancing has not diminished the honour Mr Peirce feels for the recognition by his peers of his contributions to practice nationally and internationally, and for what the honour means for UL Hospitals’ Group. Best known for his work on pioneering robotic colorectal surgery at …

By Gordon Deegan A mother of two who was subjected to an alleged serious assault in Ennis last month lost her fight for life in hospital on Wednesday. Wexford native, Sharon Bennett (29) died at University Hospital Limerick in the early hours of Wednesday morning 13 days after she was admitted to the hospital. Ms Bennett was brought to hospital suffering serious head injuries after being allegedly assaulted by her boyfriend, Patrick Ballard (34) in Ennis’ Market area on the evening of Thursday, January 28, last. Reacting to the confirmation of Ms Bennett’s death on Wednesday, the Mayor of Clare, Councillor Mary Howard (FG) said, “It is absolutely heartbreaking to hear that two children will be left without their mother.” The Ennis based councillor stated, “It is so sad that they grow up and their Mammy isn’t there.” Ms Bennett had her two children from a previous relationship and Cllr Howard said, “My thoughts and prayers are with her family …

A young woman is in a critical condition in hospital following a serious assault in Ennis on Thursday evening. The incident happened shortly after 6pm in the Market area of Ennis town centre. Passers-by are believed to have raised the alarm when they witnessed an incident in the vicinity of the public toilet at Garraunakilla close to the Ennis Market. Gardaí and ambulance paramedics responded to the call and on arrival established that there was a person inside a public toilet. Unable to gain access to the toilet, the fire service was requested to assist. Two units of Ennis Fire Service attended the scene and gained entry to the toilet. Ambulance paramedics and an advanced paramedic, specially trained in advance life support skills, assessed and treated the woman at the scene. She was rushed to University Hospital Limerick in a critical condition with fire service personnel travelling in the ambulance to assist paramedics as they continued to resuscitate the woman. …

THERE has been an increase of 70% in the use of physical force to manage patients at Ennis’s Acute Psychiatric Unit, new figures show. The rise comes at a time when mental health experts say such measures should only be used in “exceptional” circumstances. A report from the Mental Health Commission shows there were 85 incidents, in 2019, when residents of the unit were physically restrained after they were judged to pose an immediate danger to themselves or to others. While there was a decrease nationally in the number of episodes of physical restraint in the country’s 65 approved inpatient psychiatric treatment centres, the facility in Ennis bucked that trend. There were 50 incidents of physical restraint at the unit in 2018 and 85 episodes involving 41 residents in 2019. In response to a query from The Champion, the Health Service Executive (HSE) Midwest, said it welcomed the report’s findings and is currently reviewing them. “While restrictive measures are sometimes …

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 …

UL Hospitals Group is urging members of the public to consider all care options before attending the Emergency Department (ED) at University Hospital Limerick (UHL). The hospital is currently managing high volumes of patients including many unwell elderly patients with medical conditions who have presented to the ED over recent days. In a statement UL Hospitals Group said, “We are sorry that any admitted patient faces a long wait for a bed and we are working to ensure that all patients continue to receive expert medical care while they are waiting. “We have opened surge capacity at UHL and we are appropriately transferring patients to other hospitals in our Group, and to the non-acute Intermediate Care Facility (ICF) at the University of Limerick (UL). “The public have an important role to play in helping us to ensure the ED is prioritised for the most seriously ill and severely injured people who need it most. People must consider all care options …

INMO members at University Hospital Limerick have commenced a ballot for industrial action this Wednesday over the refusal of hospital management to attend talks at the Workplace Relations Commission. The INMO represents over 1,000 nurses on site who are frustrated at the approach to date by management to resolving the persistent high nurse vacancy rates and other related issues. Among nurses’ concerns are the risks to patients, overcrowding in a Covid-19 environment and excessive workloads arising due to unfilled funded nursing posts in wards, emergency department and theatres. To date management have declined to provide the INMO with the vacancy rate. Mary Fogarty INMO Assistant Director of Industrial Relations said: “It is imperative that these vacancies are filled prior to the opening of 96 much needed additional beds on site. However many of the wards also have historical low staffing levels and need additional nurses to cope with the demands of the Covid-19 environment. “Nurses at UHL are exhausted after …

AN Outbreak Control Team has been established at University Hospital Limerick after one patient and one member of staff on Ward 3B tested positive for Covid-19 this Tuesday ( August 19). Contact tracing and testing is currently underway and all appropriate infection prevention and control measures are being followed in line with the national HPSC guidance. A number of staff from the ward at the centre of what we believe to be a localised outbreak have been identified as contacts. They have been asked to stay off work and to self-isolate in line with national guidance.  Initial testing of all patient contacts is complete and has not identified further cases. Initial testing of all staff contacts is expected to be complete tomorrow. All patients on the ward in question have been informed of the outbreak. Noreen Spillane, Chief Operations Officer, UL Hospitals Group, said: “Hospitals have been preparing for these situations for many months and we have now established an …