Tag Archives: University Hospital Limerick

Injury Units in Nenagh and Ennis Hospitals and St John’s Limerick will play a vital role in UL Hospitals’ Group’s ring-fencing of the Emergency Department (ED) at University Hospital Limerick (UL) for treatment of Covid-19 cases and other seriously ill patients during the ongoing public health emergency. As de-escalation of the region’s main acute hospital continues in anticipation of the Covid-19 surge, all patients with minor injuries—such as suspected broken bones, cuts, bruises, sprains and strains—will be redirected to the Injury Units in Nenagh, Ennis and St John’s for treatment. To support this redirection of minor injury work, the injury unit at St John’s is moving from five-day to seven-day opening. From Saturday March 28th, the facility will open from 8am to 7pm on weekends. The unit’s weekday opening hours have also been extended, with the facility open until 7pm every day. Dr Gareth Quin, Consultant in Emergency Medicine at UHL and St John’s Hospital Injury Unit, encouraged patients with …

 UL Hospitals Group is extending until March 29 the visiting ban in place across all their hospital sites, in line with the Government decision to close all schools, colleges and childcare facilities. “We regret that so many people have been unable to visit their loved ones in hospital, and we acknowledge the impact of loneliness and isolation on people in our care at this time, particularly elderly people. “We have drop-off & collection services available to help people get important personal items to and from their relatives in hospital. Security staff at University Hospital Limerick and reception staff at Croom, Nenagh, Ennis, and St John’s Hospitals will be happy to assist with queries about this service,” a spokesperson for UL Hospitals Group said. The only exceptions to the visitor ban are as follows (with a strict limit of one visitor per patient): partners of women attending University Maternity Hospital Limerick parents visiting children in hospital people visiting patients at end-of-life …

  FIVE General Election candidates in Clare attended the protest march to highlight the trolley crisis at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) on Saturday. Clare County Council chairman, Councillor Cathal Crowe marched with Councillor Claire Colleran-Molloy in the Clare group and he was joined by  four other General Election candidates, Michael Leahy, David Barrett, Violet-Anne Wynne and Theresa O’Donohue. Councillor Crowe said he attended the march as the need to tackle the overcrowding issues is constantly raised at council meetings. Clare Sinn Féin General Election candidate, Violet-Anne Wynne is fully aware of the hardships being imposed on rural Clare by the crisis in the Mid-West’s health service and has demanded change. “The opening of existing empty beds and the employment of more nurses at University Hospital Limerick is vital to solve overcrowding crisis. “Patients in Clare are sick of the diabolical crisis in University Hospital Limerick. The Government have made excuse after excuse for far too long to justify cutbacks in …

A 68 year old man died following a farming accident in Cooraclare on Thursday morning. The man,  who was from Cooraclare, has been named locally as Paddy Clohessy. The accident occurred while loading cattle. He died at University Hospital Limerick. A post mortem is to be carried out today and the Health and Safety Authority has launched an investigation. The deceased man was helping out on a farm when the accident occurred. In 2018, 15 people died in Ireland from farm related accidents. The figure in 2017 was 25.

ATTENDANCES at the Emergency Department at UHL increased in the week ending January 6 and are expected to rise further in the coming weeks. High volumes of elderly patients with medical conditions, in particular respiratory conditions, have been presenting in recent days and the number of flu cases has also begun to rise. There were 1,301 attendances to the ED at UHL between December 24 and December 30 and this rose to 1,343 attendances in the seven-day period December 31 to January 6. The Christmas/New Year period has also proven busy for the Injury Units Ennis, St John’s and Nenagh hospitals. Between December 24 and January 1 there were a total of 790 attendances to the three units combined, an aggregate increase of 6.5%. The numbers attending at Ennis were 245 (-18); at Nenagh 251 (+21) and at St John’s 294 (+45). “The hospital is currently operating at capacity and all available surge capacity is in use. Initiatives introduced under the winter plan  – such as expanding …

  NEW measures are needed to attract more consultants and nurses in acute hospitals to reduce the high numbers of patients on in-patient and out-patient appointments in the Mid-West. That’s according to former HSE West Forum chairman, Councillor Tom McNamara, who described the latest figures from the National Treatment Purchase Fund for the Mid-West as “totally unacceptable”. With an estimated 30% of consultant posts in the UL Hospitals’ Group vacant, Councillor McNamara claimed there aren’t enough medical staff to open a second operating theatre at weekends. The Kilmaley Councillor called on Health Minister Simon Harris to introduce a new incentive to defray the cost of training for new nurses on the basis they commit to working for at least three years in the public health service to address the nursing shortage. According to figures released by the National Purchase Treatment Fund (NPTF),  the total number of in-patients waiting for treatment in the UL Hospitals’ Group increased from 5,533 last January …

    NURSES in Clare and throughout the Mid-West have overwhelmingly supported a national ballot for industrial action. The result of the ballot coincides with the revelation there are up to 60 nursing vacancies in University Hospital Limerick (UHL), which continues to struggle with overcrowding as INMO figures recorded 56 patients on trolleys on Tuesday, December 18. According to INMO industrial relations officer, Mary Fogarty, this doesn’t include ward nursing posts that were not funded since reconfiguration removed 24-hour casualty cover from Ennis and Nenagh Hospitals in April 2009. Ms Fogarty said eight beds were closed in St Camillus Hospital, Limerick and about ten funded beds in St Joseph’s Geriatric Hospital, Ennis. The union official pointed out if there was an examination about what St Joseph’s really required, this figure would be much higher. Asked if industrial action in the new year would made chronic overcrowding even worse, she stressed nurses were left with no other option. She said the …

FIANNA Fáil General Election candidate, Councillor Cathal Crowe has pointed out that records were broken at University Hospital Limerick’s Emergency Department last month as it emerged that 1,071 people were left lying on trolleys waiting for admission to a hospital bed. “We have had a 172% increase in the number of people on trolleys in the November ED figures since 2011 when 393 were on trolleys compared to 1071 in 2018. Looking at the national figures, well over 100,000 people have now been left languishing on trolleys in the country’s emergency departments. The people of Clare are being affected by this atrocious overcrowding. Many of the people on trolleys are older, highly vulnerable people who cannot afford to be left waiting in hospital corridors,” Councillor Crowe said. “This is the first time since records began that the number of hospital patients without beds in Ireland has exceeded 100,000. This means that patients all over Ireland are being subjected to waiting …