Health watchdog receives 300 submissions from public on emergency services in Mid-West

A room in the new 16-bed unit at University Hospital Limerick.

Over 300 public submissions have been received by Hiqa’s review of emergency services in the Mid-West, as Monday saw a near record-high 138 people without a bed at University Hospital Limerick.

The construction company, which recently completed a new 16-bed unit at UHL, has now been contracted for further works.

The number of patients waiting on trolleys and chairs on Monday is fast approaching the record high of 150 facing delays on just one day in February last year at the overcrowded hospital.

In addition, 16 patients could not get a bed a Ennis Hospital and 10 at Nenagh Hospital, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation warned.

The HSE, which counts trolleys differently from the INMO, counted 88 people on trolleys and 63 on temporary surge beds at UHL, coming to 151 in total, also on Monday.

Health watchdog Hiqa was asked in May last year to examine whether a second emergency department was needed for Limerick, Clare, and North Tipperary. 

As part of this process, it opened a public consultation. This closes on Wednesday at 5pm. It has so far received “over 300 submissions” from the public, a spokeswoman said.

The terms of reference include providing a preliminary briefing to the health minister.

“We expect this briefing to be in February, which would be six months from the publication of the terms of reference,” she said.

Meanwhile, Clancy Construction was awarded a tender for further work on the site. 

It handed over a 16-bed unit on December 20 on the ground floor of a newly constructed three-floor building.

“The ground floor is fully finished and occupied and the first floor is shell and core at the moment but Clancy Construction have just been awarded the contract to get it fitted out by the end of May,” marketing manager David Rispin said.

The top floor holds IT, heating, and other equipment. 

Sandra Broderick, HSE regional executive officer, said the 16 beds are all single-occupancy rooms. “That’s been a great help to prevent the spread of respiratory infections around the hospital,” she said.

However, in light of the ongoing overcrowding, she also highlighted the “the obvious mismatch of beds in the region”. 

UHL and connected hospitals have seen “a huge surge in presentations”, she said. Nationally, the INMO warned of 663 patients left without a bed. 

Patients in Cork City were the next worst affected, with 55 patients without a bed at Cork University Hospital and 30 at the Mercy University Hospital.

Kerry patients also faced delays, with 17 waiting for a bed there on Monday.

The HSE data shows no patients on trolleys at University Hospital Waterford, although 42 were on temporary surge beds.

The flu, which saw 956 patients admitted in just the first week of January, had been expected to peak last week, according to HSE chief clinical officer Dr Colm Henry.