Concern is being expressed in Clare that purpose-built areas of University Hospital Limerick are being used for A&E patients.
It follows claims that a 12-bed short-stay surgical bed ward, which opened last Monday, had a trolley placed in it on its first night while non-surgical patients have been using the beds due to the overcrowding situation.
Last week saw trolleys numbers at Dooradoyle hit 70 on one day alone; while it was confirmed on Friday that the long-awaited 60-bed modular unit to alleviate overcrowding is finally set to begin.
But Independent Ennis Councillor Ann Norton, who’s a member of the HSE’s Regional Health Forum West, says news emerging from the surgical unit is worrying:
UL Hospitals Response:
The Surgical Short Stay Unit opened on Monday 25th February 2019.
The Unit is a designated Unit for patients, with defined surgical conditions appropriate to an expected short hospital stay, to receive treatment in a timely manner and in an area where they can recuperate post-operatively and be discharged home within a 48-72 hour period. The 12 bay unit will see more emergency surgical procedures carried out during the Winter period. Identified cases such as urology cases will have quicker access and treatment and better utilisation of the Unit overall providing a better unscheduled care journey for our patients. Referral comes from ED admission or the Acute Surgical Assessment Unit. Currently the unit is staffed to permit a 5 day service.
On the evening of the 25th February, UHL had been experiencing higher than normal attendances and one trolley was placed in the Surgical Short Stay Unit in a surge capacity, to assist with the management of overcrowding at UHL. All surgical procedures planned for the Unit went ahead on the 25th of February, no further trolleys have since been placed in the Surgical Short Stay Unit.
