Clarity is being sought on the opening date for the Emergency Department at the region's main hospital.
Clarity is being sought on the opening date for the Emergency Department at the region's main hospital.
The new unit was due to open in May next year but the HSE's Service Plan, released yesterday, has cast doubt over the date, saying its due to be completed in the last quarter of the year.
The long anticipated emergency department at University Hospital Limerick may have hit another stumbling block after the HSE's service plan suggeted its opening date could be delayed.
The document says the facility will not be fully completed until the fourth quarter of 2017, which is at odds with previous guarantees that it would open by May.
The UL Hospitals group has yet to clarify the issue, though a high level source has indicated that patients will still be seen there from May.
Whitegate Councillor Pat Burke, who is a member of the HSE's Regional Health Forum West says there is an urgent need for clarity on the issue:
Under the plan, 1.4 million is allocated to recruit over 90 new staff for the unit – these are expected to be primarily nurses.
But Chair of the Health Committee, Kilmaley Councillor Tom McNamara is questioning how those positions will be filled given recent recruitment difficulties.
