*Leo Varadkar speaking to the media at University Hospital Limerick. Photograph: Brian Arthur
AN TAOISEACH, Leo Varadkar (FG) has said it is an unfair analysis that successive Governments he has been involved in have done nothing to alleviate concerns of the people of the Mid-West that they have been left behind when it comes to health services in the region.
No new acute beds will be opened in the Mid-West Region this year, the HSE’s Acute Operations department confirmed in response to a parliamentary question from Clare TD, Michael McNamara (IND). No new beds opened within the UL Hospitals Group in 2022 either.
The Clare Echo flagged this statistic to the Taoiseach during a visit to the University Hospital Limerick (UHL) on Friday and questioned if his decision not to appoint a Mid-West TD to a senior Ministerial position did nothing to abate concerns from the people of the region that they’ve been abandoned when it comes to health services.
Varadkar responded, “I don’t think that’s a fair analysis, about 150 beds have been added in this region, it has one of the largest and most modern emergency departments in the State, 96 new beds under construction right here where we’re standing at the moment, they might not be open this year but they will be open next, a 150 bed not for profit hospital the year after that and then the potential to keep Barringtons in health care use as well. I think a fair analysis is not to take any twelve month period, look at the investment that has happened in the last couple of years, it has been considerable but it isn’t enough, there is more coming and that’s what I was here to confirm and here to talk about”.
Proposed six regional health areas due to come into effect from 2024 has Clare is located in Area E alongside Limerick and North Tipperary, it is the only region served by one emergency department and as per the 2016 Census is catering for a population of 390,000. Regions A and B both have six emergency departments each, Region C and F have five emergency departments while Region D has three emergency departments.
These plans were defended by the Taoiseach. “I think every region is different bear in mind, you have to take into account the geographic size, the Saolta region extends from the tip of Inishowen to the Clare/Galway border, you have to take these things into account, it’s geographical spread but it is also population and you have to take into account the distances between the hospitals.
“I think the model here broadly is the correct one to have one major regional specialist centre and build it up to make sure it has the right capacity, all the staff and all the resources its needs but also to upgrade Nenagh and Ennis, I’d like them to see more patients, we’re already seeing the ambulance bypass protocol where patients who are sick but stable are taken there directly, we’re seeing the medical assessment units being expanded to seven days and I’d like to see those hospitals as well as St John’s and Croom but particularly Ennis and Nenagh upgraded to urgent care centres, I think that can be done but when it comes to modern medicine and full service emergency department PSI the world has passed where you can do that in every county, you can’t, that is not the case in any part of the country either including the South-East and North-West area”.
