Day surgery will be cancelled at Ennis Hospital for a third day tomorrow, as part of efforts to tackle the persistent level of overcrowding at the region’s main hospital.
The latest figures from the INMO show the number of patients waiting for beds at UHL this morning breached 100 yet again.
Day surgeries at Ennis hospital have been cancelled for a third day, as efforts continue to tackle persistent levels of overcrowding at UHL.
The latest figures from nurses’ union, the INMO, show there were 102 patients waiting for beds during morning rounds, 44 of those on trolleys in the Emergency Department.
The UL Hospitals Group has apologised for the long waits being faced by patients and is appealing to people to consider their care options such as the Ennis Injury unit, GPs or GP out of hours services before attending.
It comes on day two of an unannounced inspection being carried out by HIQA at the Dooradoyle facility.
Clarecastle Fine Gael TD Joe Carey hopes the findings will be the catalyst for more investment in health services in the region.
He’s calling for a roadmap to be set out on how Ennis can be better utilised to, as well as a timeline for delivery.
The cancellation of day surgeries has been raised in the Dáil by Scariff Independent TD Michael McNamara, just days after a visit by the Taoiseach to the the region’s main hospital.
In response, Leo Varadkar admitted that capacity in Ennis must be increased as part of the solution to overcrowding in the Midwest.
Deputy McNamara says this shows progress is being made and he hopes this week’s HIQA inspection will reveal that better systems are being put in place.
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