Over 30 surgeries scheduled for Ennis General Hospital this week have been deferred.
The UL Hospitals Group says the decision follows a significant surge in trauma and emergency cases at University Hospital Limerick, which required staff at Ennis to be redeployed to deal with the increase.
Just over 30 patients scheduled for day surgery at Ennis General Hospital have had their procedures postponed, including patients scheduled for general surgical and vascular procedures.
These patients had been required to self-isolate for two weeks ahead of their surgery, in line with UL Hospitals Group COVID-19 procedures, and Clare FM understands that some had their procedures called off at short notice.
The UL Hospitals Group says it regrets this, adding that it will reschedule the patients concerned at the earliest opportunity.
It says the disruption in Ennis comes due to a significant surge in trauma and emergency cases in UHL, requiring theatre staff to be redeployed to Dooradoyle.
During the peak of the pandemic, theatre staff from Ennis and elsewhere were redeployed to UHL to support services there, and while these staff has returned, elective surgeries in Ennis are still operating at a reduced capacity.
The UL Hospitals Groups insists it has no plans to close theatres in Ennis.
Instead, it’s planning an upgrade to the the theatres at the county hospital, but says this remains subject to funding approval.
Statement from the UL Hospitals Group
Just over 30 patients have had day surgery deferred at Ennis Hospital this week. These include patients scheduled for general surgical and vascular procedures appropriate for a model 2 hospital. We regret that this decision is necessary but it has been taken in the interests of patient safety. We regret in particular that patients had their scheduled procedures deferred at such short notice and at a time when patients were self-isolating in advance of coming into hospital. We will reschedule the patients concerned at the earliest opportunity.
This disruption in service in Ennis arises from a significant surge in trauma and emergency cases listed for theatre in UHL and the requirement to redeploy theatre staff from elsewhere in the Group to support same. This surge in surgical cases is also impacting on patient flow at a time when UHL continues to see high volumes of unwell medical patients from across the region present to ED.
During the peak of the pandemic, theatre staff from Ennis and elsewhere redeployed to UHL to support an increase in critical care capacity. Staff have now returned to Ennis and the other model 2 hospitals as elective surgery is gradually increased in line with the national framework for the resumption of hospital services in the Covid-19 environment. Among the key principles of the framework, and our local re-emergence plans, are that services will continue to operate at reduced capacity and that the most urgent patients will be prioritised.
It is in this context that staff are being asked to redeploy to support the trauma and emergency lists in UHL and that day surgery in Ennis has been reduced this week. We will be contacting the affected patients in Ennis with a new date in the near future. In asking staff to redeploy, we are following the relevant national policy introduced with the agreement of the health sector union in response to the national public health emergency.
Claims that the theatres in Ennis are closing down are entirely without foundation. Our ambition is to upgrade the theatres in Ennis, subject to capital funding approval, and this was outlined in the presentation to Clare County Council earlier this month. Please note that Ennis is not a designated centre for cancer surgery and complex cancer cases in the region are managed in UHL.
