FEARS have been raised that staff at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) will jump ship if they get a better offer at the new Bon Secours private hospital, due to open in Limerick in the autumn.
Mayor John Moran called on the HSE to take immediate steps to retain staff at UHL, which he said “is already chronically under-staffed, we have the worst record for overcrowding in the country.”
“Now the Bon Secours is recruiting for their new private hospital in Ballysimon, and I am very concerned that many of UHL’s best and most experienced personnel will be tempted to apply for jobs there.”
“This is a crisis waiting to happen. If the HSE takes the passive, ‘Ah sure let’s wait-and-see’ approach, UHL will be left with even fewer staff,” the Mayor warned.
He added that the HSE should be proactive with measures to incentivise and retain staff at UHL, saying “this must happen immediately, today — not as part of an independent report after a tragedy has occurred.”
The Mayor said he is committed to addressing healthcare challenges, even those that fall outside the official scope of his mayoral powers.
His mayoral programme, published last October, welcomes all additional healthcare facilities in the city and county, but warns that the public health system requires massive investment.
“Limerick will see some additional capacity with the introduction of private hospital facilities,” the mayoral programme states. “However, this solution carries the risk of deepening the inequality of treatment and access to healthcare services.”
