Tag Archives: UHL

UL Hospitals Group is facilitating virtual hospital visits to help keep families in touch during the COVID-19 public health emergency at local hospitals including Ennis. Wide-ranging visiting restrictions were imposed across the six acute hospitals in the MidWest on March 5 as part of efforts to reduce transmission of the virus. Additional supports were introduced for patients who could no longer look forward to a morale-boosting visit from their loved ones. The Patient Advocacy and Liaison Service (PALS) has been expanded through the recruitment of new staff and the redeployment of existing staff. PALS are present in UHL St John’s, Ennis and Nenagh hospitals and have this week commenced a service in Croom Orthopaedic Hospital. “It is a time of heightened anxiety for everybody. Hospital can be a lonely experience at the best of times and the visiting ban has only aggravated that. We identified that the PALS service could respond to the new patient needs. At UHL, we facilitated …

TWO rapid build hospital extension projects are underway to respond to the Covid-19 crisis in the Midwest. Two 24-bed single room, ensuite blocks are earmarked to come on stream in July at both the main University Hospital Limerick (UHL) campus in Raheen, and on the site of Croom Orthopaedic Hospital in County Limerick. Both projects, which are part of the National Action Plan in response to the Coronavirus crisis, involve a rapid-build steel-frame system that facilitates an earlier start to construction work and a more streamlined process than would be possible with traditional builds. Certain elements of the buildings, such as en-suite bathrooms, will be made off-site and brought to the hospitals as completed pods for installation, reducing the number of truck movements to and from the hospitals during construction. According to the UL Hospitals Group (ULHG), the two facilities are permanent structures, with scope for expansion at a later stage, and are in line with ongoing strategic development plans, …

The man who passed away on Sunday, having been pulled from the water in Lahinch, was the father of Shay Moloney who drowned in a quarry close to Ennis on May 31, 2018. Fran Harding died in hospital having been taken from the water by an Irish Coastguard helicopter. He had got into difficulty while swimming. A range of rescue services attended. Mr Harding was subsequently treated at University Hospital Limerick, where he passed away.      

AS Wednesday morning broke there were 63 people waiting for treatment on trolleys at UHL. Outside the beleaguered hospital’s front door some of those coming and going were happy to share their views and experiences of the region’s failing health system. One man, who didn’t want to be named, has been at the hospital for several days with his 86 year old mother. “She came in on last Wednesday morning at 2am and she was on a trolley until Friday night. She got a bed then, but she has been moved a few times since, she got moved from a private ward to the hall, to a ward and now she’s moved again today.” It is a very poor way to allow an elderly woman be treated, he says. “She has to be helped to the bathroom, she can’t do things herself. Her dignity is gone, she’s just thrown on a trolley and left there. She has to be helped …

A total of 760 admitted patients are going without beds in Ireland’s hospitals this morning, the worst-ever figure since records began. University Hospital Limerick (UHL) has also broken the daily record for an individual hospital, with 92 patients on trolleys. The previous highest figure was 82, also in UHL. The number of patients on trolleys this morning would more than fill the largest hospital in the state, St. James (707 beds) or take more than twice the equivalent of Letterkenny University Hospital (333 beds). The previous worst-ever day was March 12, 2018, when 714 patients went without beds. Meanwhile, visiting has been banned at University Hospital Limerick until further notice as the hospital continues to manage high volumes of patients with influenza. “As flu can be carried in to the hospital, it is necessary with immediate effect to impose these strict visitor restrictions. We apologise for any inconvenience or anxiety the restrictions may cause patients and their loved ones. However, …

Visiting restrictions are now in place in University Hospital Limerick as staff investigate an outbreak of the vomiting bug. “We regret having to take these necessary precautionary measures and we are looking for co-operation from members of the public as we manage this situation. There are currently four patients symptomatic on Ward 4A. Therefore we request that visitors are not permitted on this ward until further notice,” the HSE said. A spokesperson said that in the interests of patient safety, it is also necessary to reduce footfall to all areas of the hospital to better manage the outbreak and facilitate cleaning. “Until further notice, only one visitor per patient is allowed in the rest of the hospital (i.e. unaffected wards) and during visiting hours only from 2pm to 4pm and 6pm to 9pm. Members of the public are reminded not to bring children on visits anywhere in the hospital. Parents of children in Paediatrics and relatives of those in Critical Care …

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) today, Tuesday October 15. The hospital is managing high volumes of patients that have arisen due to a busy 48-72 hours in the Emergency Department. “We apologise to those patients who are experiencing lengthy waits for beds, and we would like to reassure them, and their families, that we are working to alleviate the situation.  We are appropriately transferring patients to other hospitals in our Group and are working with the MidWest Community Healthcare to access appropriate beds within the community. All patients are receiving expert medical care and every effort is being made to make their stay as comfortable as possible,” UHL said in a statement today (Tuesday). “Meanwhile, we urge people to consider all available care options and not attend the ED at UHL unless absolutely necessary. It is crucial that the ED …

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 …