DESPITE having more patients waiting on trolleys than any other hospital in Ireland, the University of Limerick Hospitals Group insists that improving patient experience times continues to be a priority.
The group has issued its Winter Preparedness Plan to the Department of Health, saying it includes new proposals to mange the busiest period at University Hospital Limerick’s new €24 million emergency department.
This includes prioritising patients aged 75 and over, and reviewing elective procedures on a daily basis.
A new 17 bed medical short stay ward, funded through the Department of Health’s Winter funding initiative, is one of the measures designed to address bed capacity needs.
The group is also in discussions with the St John’s Hospital management team regarding a re-opening date for 20 beds that have been closed because of fire regulations. A nursing recruitment campaign is underway and the specific date for re-opening will be set depending on the successful recruitment of these staff.
The Group’s Winter Preparedness Plan sets out a number of measures to manage the predicted increase in patient numbers at the UHL emergency department over the coming months.
These include the transfer of patients from UHL to Ennis Hospital, Nenagh Hospital, St John’s Hospital and Croom Orthopaedic Hospital; patient transfers to community care settings; working closely with Community Intervention Teams to provide antibiotics and other basic care in a patient’s home or care facility; communication with family doctors to ensure patients are referred to the emergency department only where appropriate; extra ward rounds; and, as a last resort, extra beds being put on wards.
Patients over 75 will be prioritised in the emergency department and initiatives to improve access to diagnostics will be implemented.
A single point of contact for family doctors, called the Bed Bureau, has been introduced to help stream patients to the correct hospital department.
