A LONG-STANDING mismatch between patient demand and available capacity is the fundamental cause of overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick, the Regional Executive Management Team HSE Mid-West has claimed.
In a statement to The Clare Echo the REMT responded to commentary to INMO Commentary on RTÉ Radio News at One about overcrowding issues at the hospital.
HSE Mid-West highlighted that “Extensive independent analysis by HIQA and the ESRI has confirmed that the Mid West does not have sufficient acute hospital bed capacity for the population it serves. These findings are clear, evidence-based and widely accepted. They demonstrate that the principal challenge facing UHL is one of capacity rather than operational performance”.
As reported by RTÉ, INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha called overcrowding at the hospital “outrageous”, going on to say that “It is clear that the HSE have failed to heed the warnings of the INMO all throughout this summer and now patients are bearing the brunt of what was a totally avoidable trolley crisis during one of the hottest summers on record”.
“The reality is that all staff at UHL continue to care for unprecedented numbers of patients in a hospital that has been independently assessed as operating with insufficient capacity for the population it serves. That is the context within which our teams deliver care every day”, HSE Mid-West claimed.
The REMT reiterated their commitment to working with government in order to improve patient experience and wellbeing at UHL, explaining that “The Minister for Health has been unequivocal in her commitment to addressing the region’s historic capacity deficit, acting decisively by instructing the HSE to secure a site of more than 40 acres to facilitate future expansion of acute services in the region”.
“Our focus remains on working with Government to deliver the additional infrastructure that independent experts have identified as essential, while continuing to support our staff and provide the safest possible care for patients, who are and remain our single priority”, they added.
Clare TD Cathal Crowe (FF) acknowledged the unprecedented summer overcrowding at the Dooradoyle facility while stressing the importance of a more balanced, region led approach to resolve the crisis.
“It is absolutely no secret that the experiment to develop a ‘Centre of Excellence’ at University Hospital Limerick has failed and UHL simply cannot cope with the patient numbers which are attending”.
“There were 130 patients waiting on trolleys in UHL on Tuesday this week and this is totally unacceptable. We have unfortunately grown too used to seeing these numbers occurring during winter illness spikes, but it is unimaginable that such a high number of people are awaiting beds in the height of summer”, the Meelick native said.
Deputy Crowe outlined that he had prioritised the increased utilisation of regional hospitals in Clare, Limerick and Tipperary since his election to the Dáil in 2020, noting that “The people of Clare and the wider Mid-West cannot be asked to continue to accept this sub-standard of healthcare for that much longer and emergency interim action is needed immediately. The Friends of Ennis Hospital Group have proposed a National Enhanced Urgent Care Centre Pilot Programme delivered at Ennis Hospital and Roscommon University Hospitals which I think has strong merit for urgent consideration”.
The Fianna Fáil TD stated that he had written to Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD (FG) to express his alarm at the recent overcrowding at UHL and reiterated calls for an air ambulance base at Shannon airport and for the urgent progression of the planned 48 bed unit at Ennis Hospital.
“The dogs on the street know that the current system is not fit for purpose and while promises of devolvement and additional bed capacity are welcome, the proposed developments are simply too far away for the people of this region. I have long said that healthcare is a right, not a privilege, and it is time that the people of West and North Clare feel that they have the same right to emergency and lifesaving care as anyone else in Ireland”, Crowe outlined.
