Nurses say management at the region’s main hospital have asked them to “take a leap of faith”, with the closure of a ward there.
But the INMO says it’s deeply disappointed that last ditch talks yesterday with the UL Hospitals Group has failed to reach a resolution on it.
The 17-bed Ward 1A, which was opened in September 2017 as a short-stay unit after the opening of the new ED, will close from today to facilitate the opening of a new fracture clinic.
ULHG says it forms part of the overall plan to re-designate the space and that the new unit will have significant benefits for patients.
But the INMO’s Midwest representative Mary Fogarty says this is madness, given the level of overcrowding experienced at Dooradoyle daily:
ULHG STATEMENT:
Ward 1A/Medical Short Stay Unit (17 beds) at UHL is to close to facilitate the completion of works on the new fracture unit. This is in accordance with the overall plan to redesignate the space occupied by the old Emergency Department at UHL. This will have a significant benefit for patients attending our busy fracture clinic in terms of reduced wait times and improved patient experience.
After the old ED was vacated, the Medical Short Stay Unit opened on a temporary basis and this will shortly be converted to a fracture unit in accordance with the plan.
UL Hospitals Group also wishes to point out that the plan to close the 17 beds in the MSSU is offset by the following:
· the 12-bed surgical short stay unit, which opened last month and is currently operating four days a week, will open on full-time basis towards the beginning of April once all the appropriate resources are in place
· 3 additional cardiology beds opened last week
· 5 bed spaces in the vacated former Acute Medical Assessment Unit will open from next Monday 1st April
· The 15-bedded medical ward 4C will be fully staffed at weekends from this weekend
This is in addition to the expansion of the Medical Assessment Unit which increased capacity by two beds and moved from a five day week 12 hour service to 24/7 in January.
Separately, UL Hospitals Group continues to focusing its efforts on getting a number of admission avoidance pathways up and running and provide alternatives for patients with specific conditions.
UL Hospitals Group can confirm that the above plans in respect of Ward 1A were shared and discussed at meetings with the trade unions, including the INMO, in the third quarter of 2018.
