UNIVERSITY Hospital Limerick (UHL) management has been criticised over claims that Covid-19 social distancing regulations are being ignored at the hospital’s acute fracture clinic.
One parent who attended the clinic with their daughter last Friday told the Limerick Post that there were 28 people sitting in the waiting area at the time.
“No one was social distancing as there was not room to do it. People were sitting back-to-back in there. It was like business as usual except with Covid-19 signs and a few wearing masks,” they claimed.
”I went to the desk and explained why we were here and I was told to take a seat with the others and my daughter. There were people of all ages there. I sat for a minute but I felt unsafe and felt I could not continue to wait there with my daughter. I brought this to the receptionist’s attention and she called a nurse who suggested we wait outside the hospital building and they would call me when it was my daughter’s turn.”
Limerick Fianna Fáil TD Willie O’Dea said a number of patients and staff had been in touch with him to express their shock at the lack of social distancing measures at the fracture clinic.
“I have had reports of dozens of people packed in to the waiting area with no effort whatsoever to provide for physical distancing.
“It is like the Covid-19 pandemic doesn’t exist in UHL, as it appears to be in some kind of twilight zone not bearing any resemblance to the rest of the country, who by and large are adhering to strict social distancing guidelines”.
He said that the situation at UHL is contradicting everything the HSE is promoting in terms of social distancing,
”This is the very organisation that is supposed to be leading the fight against the Coronavirus. Surely appointment times could be staggered so that less people are waiting at any one time?”
Deputy O’Dea says staff working in the fracture clinic have told him the situation is very unsafe but that their “hands are tied”.
”While they know there are too many people crammed together at any one time, they can’t do anything about it.
“I would urge the University Hospital Limerick management to immediately implement measures to provide for physical distancing at the fracture clinic. If supermarkets can follow HSE guidelines for social distancing, surely their own hospitals can do the same,” he suggested.
“Since the public health emergency began, we have reduced the numbers attending the fracture clinic, facilitating virtual clinics where possible.
“However, the nature of the fracture clinic is such that face-to-face consultations continue to be necessary as patients will require physical examination, diagnostic tests and timely review in hospital.
“Our Acute Fracture Unit has recently moved to a more spacious environment on the footprint of the old Emergency Department. The overall demand on the service has not diminished and we accept that the waiting area has at times become busier than we would wish.
”We have since introduced further measures in the Acute Fracture Unit. We have further reduced the numbers of patients attending during a particular time slot. We have separated all seating in the waiting area so that people are at least 2m apart. We are also providing additional signage on the unit. Public address announcements around physical distancing are broadcast in the Acute Fracture Unit and staff are also issuing this advice in person.”
