78 NEW beds promised for St John’s Hospital in Limerick City are to be fast-tracked. And hospital CEO, Emer Martin, has pledged to do everything possible bring the development in ahead of the projected completion date of 2029/31.
Responding to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly’s inclusion of the project in the national plan announced to tackle overcrowding in the health system, Ms Martin said that St John’s is committed to fast-tracking the development, with the completion of the business case in a matter of months, moving on then immediately to the planning process and design.
The St John’s CEO paid tribute to the hospital staff for its continued dedication to delivering excellent care to the people of Limerick and the wider Mid West.
“We were delighted by the inclusion of our planned expansion in the national plan by Minister Donnelly and the HSE. This will ensure that the physical environment here at St John’s will match the incredible care delivered by our staff.”
Ms Martin added that the project will also “make a huge contribution to the delivery of healthcare in the Mid West region as St John’s will more than do its share in the wider response to overcrowding here”.
She sees Minister Donnelly’s inclusion of the development in the national plan “as a vote of confidence in our staff, who have continued the great mission set out as far back as 1781 when this hospital opened to deliver care to the people of Limerick and beyond”.
“Our latest results in terms of targets set for us by the HSE show that last year we delivered 140 per cent of our service level agreement. So, this hospital continually performs above the standards set for it,” she added.
“When the department and HSE looked to ways of resolving overcrowding, the fact that they looked here and chose this hospital as part of the solution validates that expertise and care of our staff.”
Regarding a timeline for the new beds coming on stream, Ms Martin said that “the outline in the national plan suggests that this will be for completion between 2029 and 2031, but we want to get moving immediately with the intention of beating that target”.
The CEO paid tribute to the many involved in getting a commitment for the development across the line, including Minister Donnelly and the HSE, adding that the vote of confidence highlights the standards of care provided at the hospital and “the great heritage also of the Little Company of Mary sisters who first came to St John’s in 1888 and continued their service here until 2001”.
