Health Minister Meets With HSE Following Unannounced Visit To University Hospital Limerick

Photo (c) ClareFM

The Minister for Health is meeting with the HSE today, following an unannounced visit to University Hospital Limerick.

Minister Simon Harris spent just over an hour at the Dooradoyle facility yesterday, on a day when 76 patients were left waiting on trolleys, where he spoke directly with patients and staff.

He also monitored progress on the 60-bed modular extension, which is currently under construction, and promises to boost bed capacity when it opens in 2020.

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The UL Hospitals Group says the visit was a welcome opportunity for staff to engage openly with the Minister on system wide issues, outside the control of UL Hospitals Group, which are currently impacting on patient experience.

Clare’s Senator Martin Conway says patients spoke highly of the care they were receiving but were frustrated with delays, but he insists the Minister identified one particular issue leading to overcrowding and is now taking action:

Statement from the UL Hospitals Group 

“We were delighted to welcome Minister Harris to UHL so he could see for himself the excellent care being provided by our staff in the Emergency Department and the Acute Medical Assessment Unit. It was a particularly busy day and, as such, a good opportunity for the Minister to see the challenges we face and the work underway to address them.

 The Minister also visited the site of the 60-Bed Ward Block currently under construction. This important project will be completed in late 2020 and will help us to begin to address our acknowledged deficits in bed capacity and greatly improve our ability to isolate patients.

 The visit was also a welcome opportunity for our staff to engage openly with the Minister on systemwide issues outside the control of UL Hospitals Group which are currently impacting on patient experience at UHL, including the increase in delayed discharges in recent weeks.”