It’s feared that there won’t be any significant improvement in the local services until the Department of Health steps up to the plate.
Anger is being expressed locally at the latest spike in trolley numbers.
It may still be August, but nurses at the region’s main hospital are again reporting significant levels of overcrowding.
Friday and yesterday saw 65 and 63 patients respectively awaiting admission, and while that has eased to 47 today, it’s still 20 more than the next busiest facility.
A 60-bed modular unit is in the works for UHL to play a part in addressing the problem but that is still at least a year away.
The INMO’s MidWest representative Mary Fogarty says staffing is another issue, and she feels pay and conditions need to be improved.
This latest spike in overcrowding has led to fresh concern about what’s in store this winter.
Kilmaley Fianna Fáil Councillor Tom McNamara, a former chair of the HSE’s Regional Health Forum West, says the situation is getting worse by the day:
The UL Hospitals Group says the ED at UHL is one of the busiest in the country and that a multi-faceted approach is needed to help tackle the overcrowding right now.
