Tag Archives: University Hospital Limerick

A public works contract has been awarded for the fit-out and completion of the new emergency department, together with the delivery of a new 24-bed dialysis unit at University Hospital Limerick. The total cost of both projects, which are expected to be completed in 18 months, is in the region of €25 million . John Sisk & Son Holdings Ltd are the successful contractor for both these works following completion of the public procurement process and commenced setting up on site last week. The new emergency department will be located on the ground floor of both the critical care block and the adjacent extension and will be three times the size of the current ED space. A new state-of-the-art new dialysis unit will be provided on the first floor of the extension block on the same floor level as the hospitals new intensive care unit. This new dialysis unit project is being supported by the Mid-Western Hospitals Development Trust, with …

A MEELICK doctor has scooped a major honour awarded by the University of Limerick (UL) Graduate Entry Medical School. Dr Dermot Murphy, a native of Old Cratloe Road, Meelick and a recent graduate of the UL Graduate Entry Medical School, has been presented with the inaugural O’Higgins Medal at University Hospital Limerick (UHL). Dr Murphy has just commenced his intern year at UHL and is looking forward to working with the medical and surgical teams there. He will commence his work in the areas of general and vascular surgery. The award is supported by Professor Niall O’Higgins, chairman of the Board of UL Hospitals. It was approved and supported by the UL Hospitals’ chief academic officer and foundation head of the Graduate Entry Medical School, Professor Paul Finucane and the UL authorities at the Graduate Entry Medical School. Dr Murphy said it is an honour to receive the award. “I was genuinely surprised and delighted to be recognised by the …

“Explosive” revelations about the work practices of consultants in the Mid-West’s acute hospitals have prompted calls for an independent public inquiry into the running of theatre facilities. A report prepared by healthcare consultants, Meridian Productivity Limited, in 2013 revealed late starts by consultants in all hospitals in the UL Hospitals’ Group was a regular feature that was going “unchallenged” in the majority of cases. It outlined there was no clear definition or means of reporting utilisation of theatres,  excessive theatre overruns in Dooradoyle and last minute communication of theatre list content. It stated there was “poor theatre start and end punctuality” and a transfer of only a “very small amount of procedures” from UHL to Ennis and Nenagh hospitals, which is contrary to commitments given when 24-hour emergency services were removed from those hospitals in April 2009. UL Hospitals’ Group has welcomed the recommendations made in the report, which it said has helped to improve efficiencies in theatres and insists …

Killaloe nurse Charlotte Gleeson will travel to New York later this year to observe practice at one of the world’s top cancer centres. Charlotte, (33), who works at University Hospital Limerick, is off to the world-renowned Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan for a week’s clinical observation in October after winning the inaugural Sheila Clarke Travel Bursary at the annual conference of the Irish Association for Nurses in Oncology (IANO). The award is worth €2,000 and is named in honour of the late Sheila Clarke, a pioneer in the development of cancer nursing as a specialty in Ireland and a former president of the IANO. Charlotte was nominated for the Innovation in Clinical Practice Award by her clinical nurse manager Cathleen Osborne and by Catherine Hand, nurse services manager, cancer services, University Hospital Limerick. The award recognises not just Charlotte’s excellent care but also the manner in which she has driven innovation in clinical practice for the benefit of …

Extra measures are being sought by a nursing union to tackle overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) after the emergency department (ED) recorded the highest number of patients on trolleys earlier this week. According to the INMO Trolley Watch, there were 55 patients on trolleys in wards and the ED in UHL on Tuesday, compared to 46 in Beaumont Hospital. The UHL figure had increased dramatically from 34 on Monday before it reduced to 39 again on Wednesday. INMO industrial relations officer, Liz Curran, urged the HSE to eliminate any red tape that could delay the hiring of an extra 70 nurses for the UHL Hospital Group, so that new nurses can start working as soon as possible. Ms Curran called for an increase in the number of community intervention teams in the region, as she said this would assist with the earlier discharge of patients and would also help reduce the number of patients who require hospitalisation. Nurses in …

HEALTH Minister, Leo Varadkar is coming under increasing pressure to tackle the chronic overcrowding in the emergency department at University Hospital Limerick (UHL). Deputy Timmy Dooley said the HSE has stated the new emergency department (ED) in Limerick will not be fully operational until next year, due to its requirement to comply with national value-for-money procurement procedures. However, he believes the declaration of a national emergency would allow the HSE to set aside procurement procedures for a short period of time, in the interest of patient safety. “Overcrowding should be treated as a national emergency. If people are going to die as a result of the crisis that has emerged, it is obvious the mechanisms delaying the investment benefiting patients need to be set aside. “Work needs to be advanced to open the new ED as quickly as possible. The HSE has stated it will be 2016 before the new fit will be completed, due to procurement procedures, which is …

THE tragic death of a Cratloe man, who was not seen by a doctor within the recommended 10 minute timeframe, has sparked calls for the establishment of an independent inquiry into why he died on a trolley at University Hospital, Limerick (UHL), three hours after admission. Darragh Curley, aged 33, Ballybroughan, Cratloe, died at UHL in the early hours of July 8, 2013. Following evidence outlined at his inquest last week, Councillor PJ Ryan, a family friend and neighbour, said Health Minister Leo Varadkar should initiate an inquiry. A HSE West Forum member, Councillor Ryan said his death was a devastating blow to his family who are “the salt of the earth”. Even though Mr Curley was categorised as an emergency patient, Councillor Ryan said he did not get emergency treatment. “I knew Darragh, who went to Cratloe National School with my sons. He was a lovely young lad, who had a passion for cars. Serious action needs to be …

Gardaí launched a search operation this morning for the driver of a car involved in the two-car collision near Tulla, as he was believed to have fled the scene on foot. The driver of the other vehicle,a man in his sixties, who was seriously injured, was brought to University Hospital Limerick. Emergency services were called to the two-car collision at Knockadoon, on the main Tulla to Scariff Road, shortly before 7.30am.  The road was closed for a number of hours for a technical examination. A garda search for the missing driver of the second car was to no avail. However, a man later presented himself for treatment at Midwestern Hospital Ennis, and enquiries are being being made as to whether this was linked to the accident.