A newly constructed unit containing 96 single beds, which has been under development for the past three years, is expected to become operational within the next week. All 96 beds will represent new additional bed capacity.
This €96 million development, which is understood to be fully staffed, is the first of three proposed 96-bed blocks planned for the University Hospital Limerick (UHL) site. The second block is hoped to open in 2027, while the third is earmarked to come online in the 2030s.
UHL has consistently been the most overcrowded hospital in the country. On Thursday morning, there were 86 patients waiting on trolleys in corridors at UHL’s Emergency Department (ED) and wards, according to figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO). The previous day, that number was even higher, with 118 patients languishing on trolleys.
The State’s health watchdog, HIQA, has previously reported that unannounced inspections of UHL’s emergency department found the dignity and privacy of patients were compromised due to the swamped conditions. Earlier HIQA inspections also revealed that UHL was understaffed, posing a significant risk to patient safety.
A year ago this month, HSE Chief Executive Bernard Gloster issued a formal apology to the family of Aoife Johnston following the publication of a report into the 16-year-old’s death amid a series of care failings at the hospital. Aoife, who was accepted to have required life-saving medicine within 10 minutes of arriving at UHL with suspected sepsis, only received the medicine 13.5 hours later. Tragically, she died at the hospital on December 19, 2022.
The report, authored by retired Chief Justice Frank Clarke, concluded that Aoife’s death “was almost certainly avoidable.” Mr. Clarke also warned that unless the fundamental issues of overcrowding and understaffing at UHL are addressed, the risk of further avoidable deaths at the hospital will “inevitably be present.”
Following the report’s publication, HSE Chief Bernard Gloster stated: “We failed Aoife and our failure has resulted in the most catastrophic consequences for her and her family.”
During Aoife’s inquest held in Kilmallock in April last year, UHL clinicians described the ED as “gargantuanly overcrowded” and “like a death trap” on the weekend she was admitted.
UHL’s Emergency Department has been the only 24-hour emergency facility in the Mid West region, serving Limerick, Clare, North Tipperary, and parts of north Cork and north Kerry, since smaller ED units were closed and consolidated at UHL in 2009.
The Mid West Hospital Campaign Group, which includes individuals whose loved ones have died on trolleys at UHL during times of overcrowding, has repeatedly called on the Government to approve the opening of additional emergency departments in the region.
The HSE Mid West was contacted for comment.
https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/96-additional-beds-to-become-available-at-university-hospital-limerick-in-coming-days-1810968.html