A HIQA inspection report into University Hospital Limerick published today has found that the hospital was only partially or non-compliant with three of four relevant national standards which were assessed.

The report identified the need for additional bed capacity at the hospital as well as improvements in patient management, especially management of safety risks. 

Teachta Quinlivan said:

“The latest HIQA inspection of University Hospital Limerick serves as yet another reminder that the hospital is severely constrained by a lack of bed capacity both in the hospital and in the community.  The hospital is routinely overcrowded, which causes huge distress to patients.  The report clearly identifies significant and severe patient safety risks, which are not being effectively managed. 

“The report highlights yet again the need for urgent action to expand capacity and improve management of safety risks at the hospital.  The people of Limerick and wider Midwest know all too well the severity of the crisis here, which is causing considerable concern locally. People feel that their calls are not being heard by government. They want to see urgent action, not promises that fail to materialise. 

“Tomorrow morning, Sinn Féin will be launching our plan to fix Midwest health services. I and our health spokesperson David Cullinane TD will set out how a Sinn Féin government would get to grips with this crisis. How we would act to end the recruitment embargo, invest in 288 additional inpatient beds, review the closure of Ennis and Nenagh emergency departments, establish the full need for additional ED capacity in the region, and determine the safest configuration of emergency services on the basis of best practice and clinical evidence.  Our plan will also outline a series of measures across primary, community, and hospital services that are needed to deliver safe, quality, human rights-compliant care in the Midwest.

“Instead of lurching from crisis to crisis, the government must act and get to grips with healthcare in the Midwest. It’s time for a clear plan, and a sense of urgency, to deliver the change that people need.”