Tag Archives: University Hospital Limerick

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has condemned the gross overcrowding and the compromised ability of nurses to provide acceptable and safe care to all patients within University Hospital Limerick. “There is no doubt that the level of overcrowding today with 66 patients on trolleys and on extra beds on wards is unprecedented and is a serious crisis,” remarked INMO Industrial Relations Officer, Mary Fogarty . “INMO members do not accept that management at the hospital are robustly managing all of the available bed capacity to meet the demands of emergency patients who are deemed to need admission. It is incumbent on the management team as an employer and in governing the hospital to ensure that the hospital is safe for staff and patients and this is not the case. This is increasingly worrying for our members as clinical care of patients is compromised and there are high levels of stress being experienced by nurses daily. In recent weeks …

A 42 year-old pedestrian struck and seriously injured following a road traffic collision at Shiels roundabout in Ennis last Wednesday night has died from his injuries. The man has been named as Eugene McNamara from Ennis, a brother of Clare All-Ireland hurling medal winner, Stephen. He was actively involved with the Éire Óg GAA Club as a coach. The incident occurred just before 10pm near the roundabout when two cars collided with one going out of control and hitting Mr McNamara. He was rushed to University Hospital Limerick but passed away late last night. Two men in one of the cars, aged 25 and 19, fled the scene on foot after the collision. They were followed and apprehended by an off-duty garda. The men were treated for minor injuries and were detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 at Ennis Garda Station. They were released without charge and a file is being prepared for the Director of …

A LOCAL woman has questioned if the HSE believes the health and life of her daughter is “worth more than €600”, following a traumatic experience. Nicole Norton (19), who suffers from Cerebral Palsy, requires intrathecal baclofen therapy (IBT) to prevent her from going into possible spasm, internal organ and heart failure. In an interview with The Clare Champion, her mother, Ann Norton, said she got a phonecall from a senior clinician on Wednesday of last week informing her that the HSE would no longer pay for the cost of refilling this pump because it is too expensive. It costs about €600 to provide medication for the pump every five or six weeks. Ms Norton said she was told the medication for the pump is “not being released from the pharmacy due to the cost”. “I felt sick in my stomach that the HSE would put Nicole’s life at risk for the sake of €600.” Councillor Norton said if Nicole goes into …

MID-West parents are to be supplied with “free baby boxes”, in addition to important literature, when they leave the University Maternity Hospital Limerick, it has been announced. The proposal, which is being introduced at no cost to the HSE, is now at a stage where all the necessary groundwork has been carried out and has been  launched  this Friday. Over the last two months, the University Maternity Hospital Limerick, led and co-ordinated by Dr Mendinaro (Naro) Incha, have been working on a project to distribute free baby boxes to the parents of all newborn babies. It is expected to be rolled out in the next few weeks. Among those involved in the project is Dr Emma Kearney of Ennis Family Medical Centre. She has contributed to the initiative by helping to prepare an online information resource, which will be given to all new parents, along with their baby box, before they leave the hospital. This type of project, which was introduced …

Staff at The Children’s Ark, University Hospital Limerick were delighted to welcome former colleague and Olympic rowing champion, Sinéad Jennings to the ward earlier this week. Sinéad was invited by Consultant Paediatrician Dr Michael Mahony to drop by and share her experiences in Rio this Summer, where she competed in the lightweight double sculls taking sixth place in the race. During 2013, Sinéad spent six months with the Children’s Ark, UHL as SHO (Senior House Officer) as part of her medical training to become a GP. A Letterkenny native, Sinéad lives in Limerick and is a member of St Michael’s Rowing Club on O’Callaghan Strand in the city.  She moved to Limerick after her marriage to Limerick’s two time Olympic rower Sam Lynch. They have three daughters Clodagh (5), Molly (3) and Hannah (2). Speaking about her SHO training at UHL, the Olympic rower said, “Working as an SHO was much harder than training to be an Olympic rower, but just …

Two people were treated in hospital following separate accidents at the Cliffs of Moher. Emergency services were alerted around 10am yesterday after an Italian visitor suffered a serious leg injury after falling. The Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard and a HSE ambulance and rapid response advanced paramedic unit were sent to the scene and the woman was transferred to hospital for treatment. A short time later, rescue teams were called out to a similar incident involving an Australian woman, who suffered a fall at the popular cliff trail. The woman was taken to safety and transferred to University Hospital Limerick.

Two German tourists were removed to hospital following a two-vehicle collision in North Clare. The men had been travelling along a narrow country road at Toornahooan, a short distance from Doolin, when the accident occurred. Two units of the fire brigade from Ennistymon along with ambulances from Ennistymon and Ennis responded to the incident along with gardaí. Members of the Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard were also requested to assist. The two male occupants of the rental car were injured in the collision while the driver of the second vehicle was unhurt. The injured were taken by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick for treatment.

A US bound flight turned around over the Atlantic yesterday afternoon and diverted to Shannon Airport after a passenger on board fell ill. United Airlines flight UA-914 was travelling from Paris to Washington and was about 600 kilometres west of the Ireland when the crew declared a medical emergency and sought clearance from air traffic controllers to divert to Shannon. The Boeing 777-200 jet landed at 3.40pm and was met at the terminal by HSE ambulance paramedics. The patient was assessed and stabilised at the scene for being removed to University Hospital Limerick for treatment. Flight 914 continued its journey a shor time later.