Hospital Deaths

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 October 2018

Wednesday, 24 October 2018

Questions (225)

Clare Daly

Question:

225. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 147 of 17 October 2018, the assurance he has received in regard to ULHG having measures in place to appropriately support and manage patient care needs in line with national and international best practice; if his attention has been drawn to the conclusion of the UHL report on the death of patients in whom CPE had been detected, which states that more preventable deaths will occur at UHL unless increased infection prevention and control staff are employed and better infrastructure created to combat the spread of CPE; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44049/18]

Written answers

Minister for Health

The internal review conclusion notes that the new cohort ward put in place by University Hospital Limerick has helped reduce transmission of CPE. The report also makes recommendations as to molecular diagnostic timeliness, infection prevention and control staffing and infrastructure.

Subsequent to the internal review, ULHG commissioned an external review by an independent expert who concluded that the microbiological investigations and infection control interventions used were appropriate and in line with guidelines. The external review concluded that robust screening protocols are in place and that they are important in containing CPE.

I have been assured that ULHG have measures in place, including those for outbreak control, to appropriately support and manage patients care needs in line with national and international best practice.

In 2018, UHL was allocated resourcing for additional infection prevention and control capacity. In addition, the HSE National Programme for Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance is currently considering infrastructure requirements to support infection prevention and control nationally.