MINISTER of State Patrick O’Donovan has warned that unless we pull together as a community to battle Covid, the already stressed situation in the emergency department at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) will get much worse.
The County Limerick Fine Gael TD told the Limerick Post that the Government has recognised for a long period that there is a serious capacity issue in UHL.
“The last Fine Gael led Government allocated a large amount of money to deal with overcrowding in UHL. This has its roots in the reconfiguration of the Mid West Hospitals and serious under investment for many years. This government and the last is trying to address it with investment like the new 60 bed unit which is currently progressing, the new A&E which the last government provided and other investments.”
“I believe it is appropriate and responsible for me as a government representative to point out that unless we work together as a community to try to suppress the spread of Covid-19 then the already challenging environment in UHL will get worse.
“We have been told this by medical professionals and hospital management and this is not exclusively a Limerick issue. As a government TD, I will continue to advocate for our local hospital but I will also echo the facts that the ability of our hospital network across the country, including Limerick, this winter will be challenging.
“This is why all of us must do what we can to help UHL and all our hospitals by suppressing the virus and minimising the risk.” he said
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