I 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.