A SECOND hospital emergency department for the Mid West region should be considered by Government, Taoiseach Simon Harris has said.
Scheduled care was cancelled at all hospitals run by the UL Hospitals Group (ULHG) earlier this month in what was described by the Minister for Health and the HSE CEO as a “reset” to address patient flow issues at University Hospital Limerick (UHL), where on one day alone this month 127 admitted patients waited on trolleys, in corridors, and in overflow wards for a bed.
Scheduled surgeries and many appointments are on hold Ennis and Nenagh hospitals as well as St John’s and UHL in Limerick and the Croom Orthopaedic Hospital, with only time-sensitive appointments, such as cancer treatment and dialysis going ahead.
There was no change in the situation this week, with the hospital unable to say when normal services will be resumed.
Trolley figures have dropped at UHL since the announcement of the stall of scheduled care in ULHG hospitals, with just 31 reported as waiting on trolleys this Monday morning by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.
Taoiseach Simon Harris said on Sunday that a report into serious issues at UHL was due to be brought to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly “very shortly”.
The Taoiseach said Government would follow the recommendations of that report “without fear of favour”.
“I think when it comes to the Mid West, we should have an openness to a second emergency department, if that is the outcome of the HIQA (Health Information and Quality Authority) review.
“There is absolutely a need for more bed capacity in the Mid West. I recognise that, the Minister recognises that.
“We have increased bed capacity significantly – but it’s also true to say that there are serious issues, I believe, in relation to how the health services in the Mid West are being managed.”
The Taoiseach, himself a former Health Minister during the early months of the Covid era, added: “I think it is fair to say, by any objective standards, there are serious issues (at UHL) that go beyond the conversation just around investment.”
The Taoiseach was speaking to the media at the Tullow Agricultural Show when he made his remarks. He said that Health Minister Stephen Donnelly is right to “look at how hospitals are being run and managed”.
