A Clare mother whose daughter with special needs spent 3 nights and 4 days on a trolley at University Hospital Limerick last week says she is bewildered by the HSE’s consistent inaction on overcrowding.
Jean Hanrahan from Quin attended UHL last weekend, after her daughter Orla, who is immunocompromised and had just recovered from a lung infection lost consciousness at home.
Orla was admitted to the Medical Assessment Unit last Sunday, where her mother Jean claims she was left on a trolley outside a toilet on a hospital corridor.
Jean has described overcrowding there as the worst she’s seen in 21 years, having regularly attended the facility with her daughter, who has Down Syndrome and that while the staff and clinical care were exemplary, the invasion of patient privacy and dignity made for a traumatic experience.
She’s now calling on the Minister for Health and UL Hospital Group management to spend a night on a trolley at the Dooradoyle facility, after what she’s described as the worst overcrowding situation she has ever seen.
Jean is questioning how the Government the HSE can stand over the overcrowding crisis there.
The UL Hospitals Group says the kind of experience outlined by Ms Hanrahan and her daughter Orla is not what they wish to provide for patients, and reducing lengthy wait times remains a priority focus for their healthcare teams.
It’s cited a daily average of 227 patients in January and say UHLG, along with health and social care teams across the Midwest, are working at full capacity to meet this exceptional demand.
Hospital management have apologised to those impacted and say they continue working to ensure all patients are assessed and admitted as soon as possible.
The Minister for Health has doubled-down on his belief, meanwhile, that the cause of the overcrowding crisis at University Hospital Limerick “is not just capacity”.
Staffing at the region’s main hospital is up 40% or 1,100 in the last three and a half years, while last month, the number of people waiting for a bed at the facility soared by 75%, according to Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation figures.
The first of two planned 96-bed blocks at the Dooradoyle facility is in the construction phase and is expected to come on stream later this year.
Speaking at the Oireachtas Health Committee, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly says reform within the hospital is vital if real change is to take place.
You can listen to the full interview below.
Statement From The UL Hospitals Group
UL Hospitals Group always regrets to hear about or from people who have had a poor patient experience in our hospitals. The kind of experience outlined by Ms Hanrahan and her daughter Orla is not what we wish to provide for patients, and reducing lengthy wait times remains a priority focus for our healthcare teams.
Throughout January, University Hospital Limerick (UHL) has experienced extremely high demand for our services, with the hospital’s emergency department (ED) a particular pressure point.
In the month to date, a daily average of 227 patients attended ED. The month’s highest attendance, 277 on Tuesday 2nd January, was well in excess of average daily ED presentations, and attendances exceeded 250 on eight days.
UL Hospitals Group, with health and social care teams across the Midwest, are working at full capacity to meet this exceptional demand.
Working to the UL Hospitals Group escalation framework to maximise patient flow and minimise impact on scheduled surgeries, we have opened additional surge capacity across all our hospitals, including assessment units at UHL..
None of the above is to minimise the frustration and inconvenience for any admitted patients who experience long waits on trolleys for inpatient beds.
We apologise to those who have been impacted, and continue working to ensure all patients are assessed and admitted as soon as possible.
