Tag Archives: UL Hospitals Group

A WELL KNOWN colorectal surgeon has called on An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly to engage in continuing dialogue to increase acute hospitals services and personnel throughout the Mid-West. Professor Calvin Coffey recalled reconfiguration of acute hospital services was supposed to be followed by the introduction of a co-located hospital, additional funding and extra health infrastructure across the region. This didn’t happen due to the economic crash and have not been implemented in recent years by the present government. This has resulted in doctors, nurses, consultants and health care professionals all providing health care above and beyond what they should be providing. Professor Coffey, who is one of the signatories of an open letter signed by 87 consultants and doctors, agreed that chronic overcrowding increases the risk of an adverse outcome for patients on trolleys due to the sheer volume of number and the lack of adequate staff. Stressing the need for investment in hospitals throughout the …

HEALTH Minister Stephen Donnelly has admitted “mistakes” were made implementing the controversial removal of 24-hour Accident and Emergency services in Ennis and Nenagh Hospitals in April 2009. Speaking in the Dáil, Minister Donnelly acknowledged “sufficient capacity” was not provided for when changes were made to emergency departments in the Mid-West, which was now being addressed with more beds and health workforce. “UHL is under significant pressure. I turned the sod recently on an additional 96 beds. There are two more plans that will provide a further 200 beds. We are also putting in a surgical hub. There is an awful lot of investment going in. “We will be investing in Nenagh, Ennis and further in St. John’s Hospital and other hospitals. This is the way to do it.” He said changes were being introduced in the new consultant contract to have more senior decision-makers rostered in the evenings and at weekends for patient assessment, treatment, admission and discharge. Addressing the …

NATIONAL HSE chiefs have defended the controversial removal of 24-hour Emergency Care from Ennis and Nenagh Hospitals following claims University Hospital Limerick is a “centre of death” and a “centre of disaster” for some patients who were left lying on trolleys. The latest criticism of this downgrading came at a Joint Health Committee meeting on Tuesday just days before thousands of hospital campaigners are expected to attend a major protest march in Limerick from Merchants Quay this Saturday. Deputy Cathal Crowe paid tribute to the frontline staff that have worked very hard to keep the hospital system some way functional. “There has been a perpetual crisis in the Mid-West and in particular UHL. We have a population in the mid-west of almost 500,000. There was a time when this population had five Emergency Care Departments, patients were provided with a level of care were discharged and went home. “Sometimes old ways are better. I think it is time the HSE …

SENIOR medics in Ennis Hospital will conduct a review of what additional resources are required in the Ennis Medical Assessment Unit (MAU) after one week of the new trial transferring all non-critical Clare patients by ambulance to Ennis Hospital. Non-critical patients can now be transferred directly by ambulance to the Ennis MAU from Monday to Friday as part of a new pilot project to ease chronic overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick. Paramedics previously had no option but to transport all Clare patients directly to UHL via ambulance following the controversial removal of 24-hour casualty cover from Ennis and Nenagh Hospitals in April 2009. The unexpected change by the National Ambulance Service (NAS) in the controversial protocol, which started in Clare on Monday, is seen as a boost for the Mid-West Hospitals Group campaign to secure the return of round-the-clock cover in Ennis and Nenagh Hospitals. Pressure is growing on the UL Hospitals Group to provide additional resources to Ennis Hospital …

Record high attendances at the Emergency Department (ED) in University Hospital Limerick in recent days have led management to cancel all but the most urgent elective surgery and outpatient diagnostics at the hospital this Monday. The unprecedented level of ED attendance is driven by a surge in patients with respiratory infections, including COVID-19, flu and RSV, and significant numbers of people with trauma injuries resulting from slips and trips on the ice over recent days. Yesterday saw 221 people attending the ED, and 251 on Saturday: the busiest weekend ever recorded at the hospital. This morning’s decision, taken in line with our Escalation Plan, includes the redeployment of medical staff to the ED, and the transfer of appropriate trauma patients to Croom Orthopaedic Hospital for treatment. A spokesperson for UL Hospitals Group said, “We have been directly contacting all patients with surgery or diagnostics appointments scheduled for today, and these appointments will be rescheduled at the earliest opportunity. We apologise …

WORK has commenced on delivering the new €90 million 96-Bed Block at University Hospital Limerick, which will result in a net increase of 48 new in-patient beds. However, the UL Hospitals’ Group has confirmed this new extension will take at least two years to complete and the new facility will then have to be equipped and commissioned before opening to patients. Described by the group as the next step in increasing acute bed capacity in the Mid-West, the new 9,800 square-metre block will be built over the existing Emergency Department and Dialysis Unit and will consist of 96 en-suite single rooms over four floors. Approximately half of the beds will be new beds for inpatients while the remainder will be replacement beds allowing the hospital to close or refurbish some of the more outdated inpatient accommodation on the site. This will allow for greater compliance with national guidelines and international best practice on infection prevention and control. Speaking in Limerick …

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 …

ENNIS hospital is looking to engage with volunteers to welcome patients and visitors to the hospital. The hospital is looking for volunteers to be an ambassador for the facility in Ennis to carry out the following: Welcome visitors to the hospital; offer assistance; assist with wayfinding to various wards, clinics, and departments; walk with hospital visitors to their location if necessary; request wheelchairs on behalf of patients. At present this is a morning service with a minimum commitment of three hours per week. If you are interested in volunteering please contact Ennis hospital on 065 6824464 or email UHLPals@hse.ie for more details.