HIQA is now inviting public submissions on its review of urgent and emergency care in the MidWest.
It comes as an interim report on the need for another Emergency Department in the region is due early next year.
Then Health Minister Stephen Donnelly commissioned the review in May , in the face of consistent chronic overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick.
Today, UHL remains by far the most overcrowded facility in the country, with 114 patients on trolleys, which is more than the combined total of every hospital in Connacht and Ulster.
The MidWest region previously had four Accident and Emergency Departments, but facilities at Ennis, Nenagh and St. John’s were closed in 2009, in favour of a centre of excellence at University Hospital Limerick.
Overcrowding has grown exponentially at UHL since, rising from 2,422 patients recorded on trolleys in 2009 to a record high of 21,445 last year.
The Health Information and Quality Authority’s review is expected to be completed in full next June, while an preliminary report is expected in January.
The primary objective of HIQA’s review is to ensure safe quality acute care in the region and to determine if a second emergency department is needed in the context of recent population changes and ongoing pressures at UHL.
To inform the review, HIQA is now seeking the views of patients, family members, members of the public, healthcare professionals, representative groups and interested parties across Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary.
Members of the public have until January 15th to have their say on the future of the region’s healthcare and can make their voices heard on the HIQA website here, where they will able to complete submission forms.
