Patients 'abandoned' as treatments cancelled in five hospitals due to UHL overcrowding

There are a number of exceptions to the cancellations, including cancer services, dialysis for kidney disease patients, cardiology services, and care at the Rapid Access Medical Unit among other services

University Hospital Limerick (UHL) has been forced to again delay care for large numbers of elective patients as numbers spiral at its emergency department, reaching 120 on Thursday. File picture: Dan Linehan

Patients in five hospitals whose treatments were cancelled due to overcrowding in University Hospital Limerick have been abandoned by this “unbelievable, unnecessary” move, the Irish Hospital Consultants Association said.

The cancellations followed severe overcrowding in UHL with 120 patients without a bed on Thursday, 127 on Wednesday and 103 on Tuesday, as counted by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.

HSE regional executive officer for the mid-west Sandra Broderick apologized saying the move will de-escalate the stresses for patients in crisis.

“Additional surge capacity has been opened at hospitals across the region to manage the current demand for unscheduled care,” she said.

 “We understand this is very difficult for patients who in some cases already faced long waits for their appointments,”  Ms Broderick said

Patients in UHL and hospitals in Ennis and Nenagh as well as St John’s hospital and the Croom Orthopedic Hospital now face delays.

Services are deferred until further notice and affected patients are being contacted, a spokesman said.

However exemptions are in place for cancer services, dialysis for kidney disease, cardiology and the Rapid Access Medical Unit among others.

The ED remains open as do Injury Units in Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s hospitals.

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However IHCA vice-president Colin Peirce said the decision shows “a complete lack of creativity and collaboration” by HSE leadership.

“We have all known for years that Limerick has problems. We also know that fixing them requires a blend of immediate and medium-term decisions. 

It is clearly a challenge, but instead of meeting it creatively, HSE leadership is essentially giving up. 

It’s unbelievable, unnecessary, and an abandonment of the local population,” he warned.

Dr Peirce, a colorectal surgeon at UHL, said: “No hospital consultant wants to tell a patient waiting for essential surgery that their critical treatment has been cancelled and, worse still, that they do not know when it will be rescheduled”.

He warned this will have “a severe impact” on waiting lists with a “direct negative impact” on the patients now waiting longer for help.

Similarly the Midwest Hospital Campaign said it is shocking to see cancellations in August and were critical of the role played by the newly-appointed REO.

“What has been achieved by an extra layer of management in the HSE other than hijack much-needed nursing home facilities in Nenagh and Ennis and send vulnerable patients home in the middle of the night,” a spokeswoman said.

Separately, activist Mike Daly said he is aware of “patients receiving last-minute phone calls just three hours before their appointments” on Thursday.

“This approach is akin to robbing Peter to pay Paul, a misguided attempt to ease congestion at A&E by sacrificing essential services elsewhere,” he added.

Overcrowding at UHL has been raised in tragic inquests and court cases this year. These were followed by announcements from the HSE and Minister for Health aimed at improving the situation, including a pledge to review all emergency services locally by Hiqa.

This has not yet opened however as they await findings from a separate review by former justice Frank Clarke into the death of Aoife Johnston, 16, in 2022.