Tag Archives: UHL

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 …

AN INSPECTION by HIQA has found that conditions in the emergency department at University Hospital Limerick pose a significant risk to the provision of care and to the health and welfare of people receiving care. The report by the health watchdog, published today, found UHL’s emergency department to be non-compliant in three key indicators from the National Standards for safer better healthcare. It was only partially compliant with the other key standard. Excessive demand on services, ineffective patient flow and insufficient nurse staffing levels were all highlighted in the report of an inspection that took place at the hospital on March 15 of this year. On that date HIQA conducted a risk-based unannounced inspection of the ED at UHL to follow up on issues of overcrowding and to assess preparations for the risk of additional severe crowding over the upcoming bank holiday weekend of March 17 to 20. During the inspection, HIQA assessed compliance with four key standards under the …

UL Hospitals Group has notified of “significant” reductions in scheduled care in effect across its facilities as it continues to manage high volumes of patients through its Emergency Department at University Hospital Limerick (UHL). The hospital raised its level of escalation on Monday, May 30, resulting in the deferral of all but the most time-critical elective activity this Tuesday and Wednesday. While outpatient activity at UHL is being restored this Thursday and Friday, almost all elective surgical procedures and diagnostic investigations are deferred for the remainder of this week until Friday, June 3. Elective and day surgery is also impacted at Nenagh Hospital and St John’s Hospital until this Friday. A spokesperson said, “We regret that some patients will have their surgery deferred and all affected patients are being contacted directly by hospital staff. Patients attending for day surgery at Ennis Hospital are advised to attend as planned for the remainder of this week unless contacted directly by the hospital …

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 …