Ongoing issues at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) remained unaddressed on Wednesday, despite the Health Minister and HSE chief executive’s recent formation of a task force aimed at relieving the pressure and reducing congestion in one of the country’s busiest Accident and Emergency departments.
The hospital found itself at the top of the list of Ireland’s most overcrowded medical facilities yet again on Wednesday, with the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) reporting 102 patients waiting for beds in the wards or languishing on trolleys. Although the figure represented a decrease of 21 from the previous day, it was still 30 patients more than Cork University Hospital, the second most congested A&E department.
In area A, B, and C of the A&E unit, a number of unattended patients could be observed stranded on trolleys, placed closely together. This comes after the department received strong criticism the previous week.
The inquest into the death of teenager Aoife Johnston in 2022 revealed shocking evidence of systemic shortcomings, missed chances, and communication failures in the hospital. Dr James Gray, an emergency medicine consultant, warned the coroner that the A&E department was, and continues to be, a “death trap” due to its overcrowding and understaffing concerns.
Inside the A&E unit that Wednesday, the situation was bleak, with patients offered negligible privacy or respect. Family members stood uncomfortably close or sat on chairs or the ends of trolleys in the passage, constantly needing to move to allow for the staff’s transit, or for additional trolleys’ ingress and egress.
Some patients professed surprise at seeing a reduction in the number of individuals in the A&E areas, claiming that the circumstances were “dire” on the previous day. Some of those awaiting a doctor’s consultation reported prompt triaging into the department. Around midday, approximately 20 individuals were waiting in the hospital’s reception for triage.
Nevertheless, hospital insiders suggested a potential temporary respite in overcrowding during the middle of the week, with a likely surge towards the weekends. One commented, perhaps fear keeps people away, in reference to the shocking revelations during teenager Aoife Johnston’s inquest.
In an attempt to alleviate pressures on the Emergency Department (ED), the University Hospital Limerick (UHL) has unveiled a series of new strategies. This includes an enhancement of staffing numbers, along with the development of multiple alternative care pathways, designed with a specific aim to lower demand and facilitate smoother patient flow. These efforts also see an increase in the number of consultant and non-consultant hospital medics.
The UHL has confirmed the operation of an emergency unit specialising in geriatric medicine for those aged 75 and above. This service now runs continuously throughout the weekdays and its scope has been broadened. Also, cooperation with the National Ambulance Service is underway to potentially offer safe home care to those over 65, thus decreasing the frequency of direct ambulance transport to ED.
Any recently declared additional funding is expected to result in safer staffing levels throughout all UHL wards, an expansion of bed availability, and the extension of the area’s three medical assessment units’ opening hours on a phased approach to a full 24/7 service.
Initiatives also include a new GP and advanced nurse practitioner service situated directly at the ED entrance. This development is aimed at further relieving the department’s overcrowding issues, according to UHL’s statement.