Tag Archives: UHL

THE increasing pressure on the Emergency Department at the University Hospital Limerick (UHL) has resulted in longer triage times for patients, which poses a “clinical risk”, a new report has warned. The Deloitte Report on patient flow and overcrowding at UHL expressed concern about the 7% increase in ED attendances between 2019 and 2022, a growth rate far in excess of demographic growth. This demand demonstrates an increasing reliance on acute hospital care and is associated with an increase in self-referrals to the ED as capacity constraints in primary care and particularly within general practice continue. Acknowledging the chronic lack of adequate bed capacity in the region, this new study recommends an additional 302 inpatient beds required by 2036 to meet current unmet demand, future demand and to replace outdated infrastructure in multi-occupancy nightingale wards. It proposed the provision of additional 63 day beds by 2036, and stressed additional medical consultant, non-consultant hospital doctors and nursing staff in the Emergency …

UL Hospitals Group, Chief Executive Officer, Professor Colette Cowan has apologised to every patient that has experienced excessive wait times or a poor care environment in UHL. Professor Cowan made the apology during a three-hour discussion between senior officials in the UL Hospitals Group, national HSE officials and Mid-West Oireachtas representatives during a joint Health Committee meeting in Dublin on Wednesday. Responding to Deputy Maurice Quinlivan’s question about what management was doing to relieve chronic waiting times in the UHL emergency department, shr said, “We don’t feel comfortable about patients waiting for treatment in the ED, but it is a capacity issue. “We have looked at developments in our community and are developing the Enhanced Community Care Programme, which will create alternatives for elderly people, apart from the ED. “UHL is a very busy hospital. All our patients tell us the care is good, the difficulty is getting through the ED door. We need another second 96-bed block, which would …

A CLARE mother has claimed she was subjected to a “humiliating experience” in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) trying to obtain proper pain-killing medication six hours after she was discharged following a full hysterectomy 26 hours earlier. In an interview with the Clare Champion, the 43-year-old has outlined how some staff didn’t believe she was back so soon in the hospital after such a major operation while she was crying in pain in the ED. The mother would like to see Health Minister Stephen Donnelly provide funding to appoint more doctors and nurses to UHL. She believes a review needs to be conducted by the UL Hospitals Group concerning the length of hospital stay for women after they had a hysterectomy and a new policy to ensure all women receive information sheet when they leave the hospital after a major surgery. She has made a number of claims about the care she received after she had a full hysterectomy via robotic …

A FULL TIME carer in her 60s has called on Health Minister Stephen Donnelly to allocate more resources and bed capacity to University Hospital Limerick (UHL) and Ennis Hospital after suffering a “nightmare experience” sitting on a kitchen chair for 14 hours. Geraldine Considine (67) from Ennis has outlined her very “upsetting and traumatic experience” when she was left sitting on a chair for 14 hours in UHL from 12.30pm on Thursday, June 16 to 2.30am on Friday, June 17. This latest revelation comes hot on the heels of the Clare Champion story which highlighted the case of a young Clarecastle man suffering from a collapsed lung who claimed he was left “crying in pain” for hours at UHL before he received medication after contacting the ambulance control centre for urgent assistance. Michael McCarthy, Clarecastle (24) recalled he had requested pain relief for approximately four and a half hours, which didn’t materialise until he rang ambulance control for help. Ms …

HEALTH Minister Stephen Donnelly has admitted he is concerned about the “significant risk” to patients attending the ED in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) which was identified in a recent report. After welcoming the recent Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) report following the unannounced inspection of the Emergency Department (ED) in Limerick in March, Minister Donnelly said he was concerned about some its main findings. He was responding to a Dáil question tabled by Limerick Sinn Féin Deputy Maurice Quinlivan, who asked the minister what steps are being taken to address the issues raised in the HIQA report following its unannounced inspection of the ED in UHL. Eleven local hospital consultants recently called for immediate action to bring an “intolerable situation for patients and staff to an end” at University Hospital Limerick. The consultants have asked UL Hospitals’ Group chief executive officer, Colette Cowan to work with them to correct immediate problems so that this current “intolerable situation for patients …

TÁINAISTE Leo Varadkar has been urged to address chronic overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) when he takes over from Micheál Martin as Taoiseach. Speaking in the Dáil, Deputy Michael McNamara stated almost every day of the lifetime of this Government University Hospital Limerick, (UHL) has been the most overcrowded hospital in the country. “Of the 676 beds we were told would be required at the time of reconfiguration, more than one third have yet to materialise. As Head of Government, what will the Tánaiste do differently? “The current Taoiseach has said it is a matter for the HSE, even though the HSE is not improving the situation? “What will the Tánaiste do differently to ensure UHL is no longer providing a different level of healthcare from the rest of the country?,” he asked. Minister Varadkar said he knows UHL well and has visited it several times. “As Taoiseach and Minister for Health previously, I did my best to ensure …

THE publication of a strongly critical report of the Emergency Department in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) has prompted a range of emotions for a local hospital campaigner. Marie McMahon from Ennistymon has been actively campaigning for the restoration of 24-hour casualty cover in Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s Hospitals for years. Her husband, Tommy died on a hospital trolley in April 2018 after spending about 36 hours waiting to get a bed. In an interview with the Clare Champion, those sad memories lingered for Marie, but she was happy that the HIQA report had vindicated the long, hard fight by the Mid-West Hospital Campaign for decent health provision for the people in the region. “The HIQA Report has validated all the things we have been saying that have been missed. Finally a body with some authority has stated in a report what those in authorities have been denying. “Everyone was putting their own spin on things. This report shows we …

ONE of the 60 patients in the Emergency Department at UHL was waiting more than 116 hours for a hospital bed, an inspection report completed by the Health Information and Equality Authority has found. Inspectors who visited UHL unannounced on March 15 found a second was waiting over 85 hours and a third was waiting 71 hours. Hospital management told inspectors that all three patients were awaiting suitable in-patient isolation facilities. Performance data on the patient experience time collected on the day of HIQA’s inspection was poor. The data showed that at 11.30am the hospital was not compliant with any of the national key performance indicators for the emergency department set by the HSE. At that time 76 patients (55%) attendees to the emergency department were in the department for more than six hours after registration. Over half (51%) of the attendees to the emergency department were in the department for more than nine hours after registration. Just over one …