WORK on the former Scoil Carmel site, which was confirmed as the site for a surgical hub for Limerick in January 2024, is due to start in the coming weeks.
First announced in 2022, the hubs were meant to be up and running by the end of 2024. However, it has now emerged that in Limerick, where hospital overcrowding is at its worst, the HSE only bought the former school that is to house the hub in the last number of weeks.
The hub will provide extra capacity for surgeries at University Hospital Limerick and take some pressures off the hospital, which consistently experiences the worst overcrowding in the country.
According to a report in the Irish Examiner, the sale of the O’Connell Avenue site was only completed in December. It is understood a price in the region of €2.5m was paid.
A HSE spokeswoman said that “construction is due to commence in Limerick in the coming weeks, starting with demolition of the existing structure”.
It’s not unusual for a planning application to be tendered for any project before a site is bought and the promised new hub has had a rocky road in the planning process.
More than 15 objections were raised by local residents in the area, some of whom said that when the school was used as a hub for Covid-19 vaccinations, people parked in front of gates and blocked them into their homes.
Others expressed concerns that the existing parking spaces are already taken up by people working in the city, making it more likely that people will park in places they aren’t supposed to.
One objector raised issues about a “serious road safety risk” caused by speeding vehicles when the site was used as a Covid vaccination centre.
It has been proposed that the new surgical hub will operate as a satellite of University Hospital Limerick with key staff moving between the sites.
When completed, it will allow the hospital the ability to perform day and routine procedures outside of the acute hospital in Dooradoyle, and would reduce the need to cancel planned procedures in the face of regular massive overcrowding and high demand on the hospital services.
It is believed the hub could welcome as many as 150 patients a day.
When the project was first proposed, a statement on behalf of the hospital said that “surgical hubs are a key priority for the HSE and UL Hospitals Group in improving access for surgical patients and reducing waiting lists”.
“The Sláintecare Report (2017) calls for an end to long waiting times and sets out ambitious access targets. The report highlights the need for greater separation between emergency and elective care in order to create the ringfenced elective capacity to support achievement of the Sláintecare access targets.
“This has become an increasing problem in UHL in recent years with frequent cancellations of scheduled care patients to accommodate medical patients admitted through the emergency department and time-critical and emergency surgery.”
