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Hospital Overcrowding

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 May 2022

Tuesday, 10 May 2022

Ceisteanna (672, 673, 711, 832)

Maurice Quinlivan

Ceist:

672. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Health the members of the expert group being deployed to assist with overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick; the remit of the expert group; the timeframe, commencement and finish date in which the group is expected to complete its work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22557/22]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Maurice Quinlivan

Ceist:

673. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Health the discussions that he has held with the University Hospital Limerick Group on the establishment of the expert group being deployed to assist with overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22558/22]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Martin Browne

Ceist:

711. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Health when the expert team will be deployed to University Hospital Limerick; if the team will visit other hospitals within the UL hospital group such as Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s; and when the team is due to report back. [22720/22]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Martin Browne

Ceist:

832. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Health , further to Parliamentary Question No. 557 of 4 May, the remit of the specialist or expert team that has been deployed to University Hospital Limerick as part of an emergency plan to ease crisis levels of overcrowding at the hospital; the date that team was deployed; if the team will visit other hospitals within the group such as Ennis, Nenagh and St. John's; and when the team is due to report back.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23430/22]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I propose to take Questions Nos. 672, 673, 711 and 832 together.

The emergency department in UHL has experienced increased attendances and admissions in recent months. These increases, along with the additional pressure Covid has placed on capacity, have resulted in increased Patient Experience Times and usage of trolleys. This is the despite the addition of 150 beds in the UL Hospital Group, 98 of which were in UHL itself, over the past two years.

I am committed to improving emergency department services to the people of the mid-west. I wrote to the CEO of the HSE on 26th April to send in an expert team to ascertain urgently what additional resources might be deployed, as well as any changes that could be made quickly to alleviate the current pressures.

I followed up with the HSE on 4th May specifying the requirement for a specialist team to be sent into UHL right away to very quickly ascertain what the main issues are, the main opportunities for improvement and what additional supports and changes are required. I asked for clarity on the staffing (e.g. consultants) available over the weekend. I also sought details of the level of discharges and diagnostics over the preceding fortnight to identify if there was a change in patterns over the weekend.

I asked to receive a preliminary report by the end of this week. I await the HSE’s response.

Question No. 673 answered with Question No. 672.
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