Clare’s Fine Gael Senator says he’s ‘horrified’ that discussions on using private bed capacity in the Midwest for an expected winter surge have not yet concluded.
It comes on a day when University Hospital Limerick has nearly double the amount of patients on trolleys than anywhere else in the country.
There were 88 people waiting for a bed at University Hospital Limerick as of 8am this morning according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.
It’s significantly higher than any other facility nationwide, with Letterkenny University Hospital the next highest with 53 people on trolleys there.
Health chiefs have been discussing their overall winter plan with members of the Oireachtas Health Committee, including representatives from Clare.
It’s understood negotiations between private hospitals and the HSE regarding the use of their private capacity over the next number of months is ongoing.
However, Clare’s Fine Gael Senator Martin Conway says these conversations should have been wrapped up long before now.
The Committee’s also heard the latest round of calls for Government to consider an elective-only hospital for the region, something that is not contained in the all-party Slaintecare plan.
The HSE’s National Clinical Advisor believes the best way to cater for elective capacity in the Midwest is to add further acute capacity to the UL Hospitals Group.
Work has begun on a new 96-bed block at University Hospital Limerick, with senior officials in the UL Hospitals Group saying work is already underway on preparing a case for a second such block to Government.
HSE National Clinical Advisor and Group Lead Mike O Connor says a multi-faceted approach is needed.
