INMO figures show 64 patients on trollies in Limerick yesterday – the most of any hospital in the country
The Government needs to start planning now for an additional 100 beds for University Hospital Limerick (UHL), on top of the 96 due to open in 2029, in order to meet future demand, the head of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has said.
Angela Fitzgerald
Angela Fitzgerald told the Oireachtas Health Committee that the current bed shortage in the Mid West poses a risk to patient safety.
She said that the slow pace in which new beds come on stream means that, by the time current shortages are addressed, more capacity will be required to meet the needs of a growing and ageing population.
The HIQA CEO welcomed the recent opening of a new 96-bed block on UHL’s campus in Dooradoyle, which she said has already led to improvements in patient flow at the hospital.
“To try and get on parity with other hospitals, they (UHL) need about 220 beds,” Ms Fitzgerald said.
“The beds that have come on stream, and the balance of those 36 beds, will get some of the way there. The other 96 that are planned would give you parity if they were coming now.”
She addressed the Oireachtas committee as part of a hearing to discuss the HIQA report into emergency services in the Mid West, which gave three options to address capacity issues in the region. First among them (option A) was to build more beds in Dooradoyle to address current shortages.
While welcoming the 96 beds due to open in 2029, she said the projected timeline for their introduction is ‘longer than we’d like’ and therefore ‘underlines the need to progress with the next 100 beds that are required’.
“In terms of option A, we’re very clear that building now to meet current demand and building on the plan that’s already there in terms of the next 100 beds is essential.”
Published in September, the review of Mid West emergency services also recommended two further options – an extension of the UHL hospital campus to include a second site in close proximity under a shared governance and resourcing model; and the development of a Model 3 hospital in HSE Mid West, providing a second emergency department (ED) for the region.
While adding that a new hospital would contribute to future needs, the body advised that the other options presented would be more effective and timelier in addressing current healthcare deficits in the region.
In response to the HIQA report, the medical board at University Hospital Limerick said that the Government needs to ‘urgently change’ direction in policy in capital investment.
The board, which is chaired by colorectal surgeon Prof Colin Pierce, added that the ‘re-phasing of capital developments elsewhere in the country’ may be required to ensure that ‘equity of access to emergency healthcare for all families in Ireland is achieved’.
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill is expected to outline her plans for increasing capacity in the region before the end of this year.
