Taoiseach says he has "significant concerns" about University Hospital Limerick and overcrowding

The Taoiseach said he has “significant concerns” about University Hospital Limerick (UHL), and that challenges remain with overcrowding in hospitals.

On Tuesday, the Health Service Executive (HSE) said a support team will be put in place in UHL in an attempt to ease overcrowding.

Simon Harris said the team will begin its work immediately and over the next four weeks, it will help to “devise a number of actions” to help pressures in UHL.

The team includes Grace Rothwell, the national director of acute hospitals, Orla Kavanagh, director of nursing and integration at Waterford University Hospital, and retired emergency medicine consultant, Dr Fergal Hickey from Sligo.

“It will work with the team in place in the hospital to manage patient flow and to de-escalate the current pressures being experienced,” Mr Harris said.

However, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said that UHL needs 288 extra beds and to hire 200 staff, including 20 emergency department nurses. She told the Dail that more than 11,000 patients waited on hospital trolleys last month.

“University Hospital Limerick again had the highest figure of any hospital in the State, closely followed by University Hospital Galway,” Ms McDonald said. “The trolley crisis is now a year-round emergency.”

She also called on the Government to lift its recruitment embargo, describing it as “dangerous”.

“The system is at breaking point, yet the Government, with its eyes wide open, is choosing to block the hiring of healthcare staff,” the Dublin TD added.

“By imposing and maintaining this embargo, it has chosen to make a bad situation worse. The consequences of the embargo are felt right across the health system.”

She added: “While the Government refuses to directly employ the healthcare professionals our system needs, it is spending a fortune on hiring agency staff. Government spending in this area has more than doubled, to 650 million euros. You could not make this up.

“Under the Government, young doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals are being educated and trained to emigrate.

“The message sent to those who have already left is not to come back, even though we need them now more than ever.”

Mr Harris said the Government has given the health service enough funding to hire 2,268 additional people this year. “When you include disability services, which the Minister of State Deputy (Anne) Rabbitte, has responsibility for, this Government has provided funding to hire 3,000 additional people this year,” he added.

“Despite their exceptional work and hard efforts, many of us in this House and I as Taoiseach have significant concerns about University Hospital Limerick.

“We have significant challenges with overcrowding. In a number of hospitals, we have seen significant improvements over the course of this year and last year.

“Now, the Minister for Health (Stephen Donnelly), with the HSE, is eager to see how you can embed the good practices with patient flow into some of the hospitals, particularly UHL, which are not going nearly as well.”

Last week, an inquest into the death of 16-year-old Aoife Johnston returned a verdict of medical misadventure. She died in December in 2022 in UHL from meningitis after contracting sepsis, and was left for more than 16 hours without antibiotics.