'Act now': Hiqa tells ministers new hospital needed as Limerick faces worst trolley crisis
The meeting took place as 82 patients waited on trolleys at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) for a bed. File picture
The Government must consider building a new hospital with an emergency department, alongside short-term reforms in the Midwest, the health watchdog Hiqa told the Oireachtas Health Committee on Wednesday.
The meeting took place as 82 patients waited on trolleys at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) for a bed, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation. It was the most overcrowded hospital in Ireland.
Some 10 of those patients had been waiting more than 24 hours by morning, separate HSE data showed.
Hiqa said it advised the Health Minister in September of three reform options: building a new hospital with an emergency department, expanding capacity at UHL, or building an elective hospital near the site.
CEO Angela Fitzgerald said the review was prompted by the death of 16-year-old Aoife Johnston in December 2022 and subsequent reports on her case.
It is “right and proper,” she said, that this and other tragedies be remembered during any discussion on overcrowding.
She said both short-term and long-term reforms are necessary.
“We are saying there is a need to act now,” she said.
She added: “What we have said is there is a need to act now, and acting now means you do Option A or B, and that’s very clear.”
The third option, she explained, would involve a new hospital similar in scale to University Hospital Kerry or the Mercy Hospital, with its own emergency department.
“We were asked to look specifically at that,” she said.
“It isn’t just about building a building but we are talking about billions in terms of building a building. It is also about making sure that building is staffed by the whole suite of specialties.”
She urged that “this is an option that now needs to be considered by Government in conjunction with short-term actions.”
Ms Fitzgerald acknowledged that the private hospital group Bon Secours recently opened a facility in Limerick.
However, she told Sinn Féin TD for Clare Donna McGettigan that the group is “not bound by public procurement and public arrangements, which makes things more challenging for us.”
She added: “I think those beds will also have some benefit for the region.”
Sean Egan, director of healthcare regulation, said Hiqa received expert advice on estates planning for the review.
However, he confirmed that no written submissions were received from the HSE, CEO Bernard Gloster, or health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, despite speculation to the contrary in recent days.
He told Social Democrats TD for Cork South-Central Pádraig Rice there was “no consensus” across submissions, which came from patients, hospital managers, and academics. Hiqa received 1,121 submissions and held 17 in-person meetings.
Mr Egan said smaller hospitals in Ennis, Nenagh, and St John’s are “very efficient” and could serve as models for other regional hospitals.
He stressed that patients in the Midwest are generally sicker than in other regions, and that smaller hospitals — known as Model 2s — “carry a heavy weight” as a result.
Looking to the future, Ms Fitzgerald said: “we have recommended the development of a comprehensive strategic plan to address the safety concerns which prompted this review, while having regard to future demographic and policy considerations.”
Several committee members raised concerns about whether the Dooradoyle campus could accommodate further expansion, given its already congested layout.
Fianna Fáil TD for Clare Cathal Crowe described the hospital’s construction as “a Lego situation.”
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