*Mid-West Oireachtas members at a meeting in Leinster House.
A UNITED front has been mounted by politicians in the Mid-West in views expressed to the Minister for Health on future emergency healthcare services in the region.
Political consensus has been reached by TDs and Senators in the Mid-West on the options for delivering healthcare services in the region following HIQA’s report on urgent and emergency healthcare.
HIQA’s review listed three potential options. Option A is expanding capacity at University Hospital Limerick (UHL), Option B is extending the UHL campus with a new second site in close proximity under a shared governance and resourcing model, Option C is the construction of a new hospital in the Mid-West with a second emergency department.
Two meetings have been held by the Mid-West Oireachtas members from Clare, Limerick and Tipperary in recent weeks, one with the HSE Mid-West management team and another with the Mid West Patient and Service Users Council. They are now seeking to meet the Minister for Health.
Having initially hit out at attempts to build a united front as “a political stunt”, Sinn Féin’s Oireachtas members in the region have backtracked and have rowed in behind the efforts.
Clare TDs, Joe Cooney (FG), Cathal Crowe (FF), Donna McGettigan (SF) and Junior Minister Timmy Dooley (FF) are among those to have signed the letter to Health Minister, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (FG). They have urged the Minister “to recognise the hardship that has been endured by our citizens, and to accept the policy shortcomings of the past, there must be no further delays”.
Senator Martin Conway has also engaged in the meeting, his signature is included on the correspondence along with Minister for the Arts Patrick O’Donovan (FG), Junior Minister Niall Collins (FF), fellow TDs, Willie O’Dea (FF), Maurice Quinlivan (SF), Richard O’Donoghue (IND), Ryan O’Meara (FF), Senator Maria Byrne (FG), Senator Joanne Collins (SF), Senator Dee Ryan (FF) and Chairperson of the HSE Patient and Service User Council, John Wall.
The Clare Echo has obtained a copy of the correspondence issued to the Minister where their views are outlined in a cross-party proposal.
On Option A, the Mid-West Oireachtas members stated, “Option A as outlined by HIQA, is almost fully reflected in The Acute Bed Capacity Plan 2024 and the undersigned fully support the continued development of this proposal on the existing University Hospital Limerick (UHL) site in accordance with the current capital plan. The 96-bed unit must be progressed as a matter of urgency and be completed before 2029. However, any further expansion beyond this plan at the existing UHL site is neither feasible nor deliverable given the site’s extreme congestion.
“Furthermore, Option A alone will barely deliver what is necessary for the very short term, will clearly not futureproof healthcare services across the Mid-West region and would deny its citizens of a standard of healthcare comparable to that of other health regions in the country. We note that the UHL group have previously acknowledged the current maternity building is “not fit for purpose”, it is imperative the plans to relocate the Maternity Hospital should not be further delayed.
“It is therefore our view that you should immediately direct the senior management team of the HSE Mid-West to identify and acquire a suitable new site, along with a fully costed and time-bound delivery plan, prioritising bed block delivery in tandem with proposed capital investment in clinical infrastructure, to be submitted no later than 1 April 2026. This would clearly demonstrate to us as elected representatives, and to the public, your intention to deliver Option B in a timely manner. We further request that you instruct the HSE Mid-West management team to establish a Hospital Development Board tasked with preparing a comprehensive plan for the delivery of a new hospital in the region, Option C”.
All three options must be viewed “as a suite of measures, rather than choices, offers the only pathway to restoring hope and achieving equity in healthcare for future generations here in the Mid-West”.
Costings for the proposals must be included in the revised National Development Plan, the correspondence noted, “in order to provide clear evidence to our constituents and service users across the Mid-West of the commitment from you Minister, your Department, and that of Government, to delivering equitable and sustainable healthcare for all citizens”.
Ongoing shortfalls in the National Ambulance Service must be determined through engagement with the NAS. “Furthermore, we seek that NAS staffing and vehicle levels are increased, along with associated infrastructural development, to ensure a safe, appropriate level of service for the region”.
