Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 November 2023
37. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Health the steps he and his Department are taking to address the large volumes of people being treated on trolleys at University Hospital Limerick, where the 2023 numbers have exceeded those of 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49007/23]
View answerI met with the HSE, hospital group management, and elected Oireachtas members from the Mid-west early this year to discuss the ED situation and future developments in University Hospital Limerick.
Significant additional investment has been provided to UHL in recent years.
• Since December 2019, UHL’s workforce has grown by 1,040 WTE’s;
• The Hospital’s 2022 budget increased by 19% when compared to 2019;
• 150 additional beds have been opened in the UL Hospitals Group since 2020, and 98 of these beds have been in UHL;
• Work on the new €90 million project, consisting of a 96-bed inpatient block and Renal Dialysis units commenced in October 2022;
• The new €2m purpose-built Injury Unit at Ennis Hospital opened in April 2022;
• The Government is also committed to the delivery of a second 96-bed inpatient block at UHL.
The Emergency Department at UHL remains busy with attendances in September of this year up by 15% compared to September 2019. The hospital is working to the UL Hospital Group’s Escalation Framework in a continued effort to create surge capacity and maximise inpatient beds across hospital sites and balance the high demand for emergency care with the safe delivery of time-critical and other elective activity. The hospital acknowledges all the patients who are experiencing long waits for an inpatient bed at this very busy time.
