Patient safety concerns at UHL must be addressed urgently
Patient safety concerns at UHL must be addressed urgently - The Labour Party
- Board for new hospital must be appointed and chair announced
- Minister must confirm when sanction and recruitment for additional consultant posts will take place
Limerick Labour TD Conor Sheehan has said that patient safety concerns at UHL must be urgently addressed.
Deputy Sheehan was speaking after the Medical Board at University Hospital Limerick has warned that the risks to patient care at the hospital “remain intolerable and unacceptable.”
Deputy Sheehan said:
“The statement from the Chair of the board is shocking but not surprising because despite the Ministers announcement of a new hospital site at Raheen Business Park and the implementation of the recommendations of the HIQUA review, the outstanding issues at UHL remain and nothing has essentially changed.
“Our hospital is under resourced from a staffing and a deficit of beds. While I welcome the Ministers announcement of the new site, that was several weeks ago, we need now to see the immediate appointment of a project board to deliver the new hospital. The fact that we do not even know who will chair it is unacceptable.
“The appointment of a project board is urgently needed for the new hospital to progress and we need to see funding urgently allocated to appoint additional medical staff and in particular consultants to UHL.
“UHL has 165 Consultants while, Waterford has 176 despite dealing with a significantly smaller population, while Cork has 314 and Galway has 321. We need the go ahead to recruit additional Consultants in the Midwest. The opening date for the surgical hub at Scoil Carmel has been delayed again and needs 100 whole time equivalent staff per day and currently has sanction for half of that. This entirely unacceptable.
“Every person in Ireland has the right to safe and timely healthcare. Yet the reality at UHL is chronic overcrowding, repeated trolley crises, and an emergency department that simply cannot cope. The strain on patients, families, and healthcare workers is intolerable, and it is getting worse, not better.”