Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 May 2022
59. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Health if his Department will undertake a full review of managerial practices at a hospital (details supplied), including but not limited to, hiring practices for managerial positions, the trolley crisis in the hospital, managerial accountability for ongoing failures in the system and accident and emergency department waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25413/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe 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 despite the addition of 150 beds in the UL Hospital Group, 98 of which were in UHL itself, over the past two years.
I wrote to the CEO of the HSE requesting that he 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 stressed that it is very important that the management and the clinicians at University Hospital Limerick get all of the support that they possibly need. The review will take place from Friday 13th May 2022 to Friday 10th June 2022. I understand that the team has been on site and will be back on site for two days next week.
Separately, UL Hospitals Group CEO, Prof Colette Cowan has commissioned Deloitte to conduct an external review of patient flow at University Hospital Limerick. This work is ongoing and is intended to provide an independent and comprehensive overview of patient flow through the ED at UHL while at the same time looking at the use of resources, processes in place and identifying any constraints.
The overarching objectives of this review is to:
- Define and describe the source(s) of flow challenges experienced within the ED and UHL;
- Determine and comment on possible opportunities to enhance the existing patient flow approach; and
- Reflect on the effectiveness and impact of patient flow initiatives introduced to date by UHL.
The Deloitte Review into Unscheduled Care is still ongoing and Deloitte are presently meeting with the HSE Mid-West Community Healthcare Stakeholders, as this is an integrated review of patient flow. Once the review is complete, the findings will be circulated to external stakeholders.
