Expansion of services at Ennis Hospital need to be fast-tracked, a Clare TD has stated.
Earlier this month, the HSE confirmed that the Medical Assessment Unit (MAU) at Ennis Hospital was to be expanded with an allocation of €286,000 from the National Treatment Purchase Fund announced last December upscaling services by forty units.
This increase in services needs to be in place for the approaching winter season, Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne (SF) stressed. “The expansion is still very much in a theoretical stage. The units of service have been increased by four slots Monday to Friday, which is obviously a good start. But the fact that personnel are still being recruited shows how slow and ineffective these changes are”.
She added, “The health system is in crisis and needs emergency resources and staffing to deal with a chronic lack of capacity. Since elected, I have been advocating for increased community health services, including the restoration of localised ShannonDoc services and the development of the long-awaited primary healthcare centre in Kilrush.
“University Hospital Limerick (UHL) has experienced unprecedented trolley numbers in recent weeks, up to 85 people were waiting on just one day earlier this month. The Irish Nurses and Midwives have expressed grave concern that the situation is going to degenerate as Winter sets in”.
Asking people in Clare to travel to the ED in UHL is unfair, the Kilrush woman affirmed. “It’s nonsensical that the people of Clare are expected to travel to Limerick Emergency Department where they know they will have to wait on trolley, for medical attention that could and should be available locally. The staff are working under exceptionally difficult circumstances and are doing their best, but even the escalation plan put in place to resolve these issues is not enough. There’s simply not enough staff”.
