STAFFING improvements in the emergency department (ED) at University Hospital Limerick were outlined and welcomed at the recent meeting of the Regional Health Forum.
UL Hospitals Group CEO Collette Cowan was answering a question on staffing from Shannon councillor Donna McGettigan (SF).
On the day of the Regional Health Forum West meeting, there were 106 admitted patients waiting for an in-hospital bed having been admitted through the ED at UHL – according to figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation’s (INMO) daily Trolley Watch report.
The CEO told the forum members that the Safer Staffing Framework has been implemented in the UHL ED and the department now has a staff nurse to patient ratio of one nurse to every eight patients.
“As such, there are 23 staff nurses rostered to cover the night time shift and 24 rostered to cover the day time shift. There are also six health care assistants rostered during the day and four at nighy,” the CEO said.
“In addition, the number of non-consultant hospital doctors in the ED has risen from 26 to 47 since January 2023.
“Two consultants in emergency medicine have also been recruited as well as an additional three consultants in paediatric emergency medicine.
“In addition, an escalation policy has been adopted by UL Hospitals Group and the emergency department to allow us to be able to respond to periods of high demand for emergency care,” Professor Cowan said.
Hospital overcrowding was at its highest this month on July 10, with 127 patients waiting for beds.
