Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I share the concern of the Senators and Deputies who represent the region regarding patients in UHL. It does not get discussed much, but it is important to state that when we are discussing UHL and University Limerick Hospitals Group, the focus, quite rightly, is on what is happening in the emergency department. However, I acknowledge, and we might come to it on a different day, that the hospital group is making great progress on the waiting lists. In fact, in some areas it has been one of the strongest performers in reducing the number of people waiting for care. I know that is not the Senator's question, but I want to give credit where credit is due.

The situation in the emergency department of UHL is simply not acceptable for our patients or our healthcare workers. I have visited the hospital on several occasions, including an unannounced visit at night to the emergency department. There are several parts to the solution. Quite rightly, the hospital has called for more beds. I have some figures on the increased capacity of beds and consultants at UHL over the past three years. The hospital has asked for more capacity, which is being provided. A significant number of beds have been added since the onset of Covid. More consultants and nurses were requested and a significant number of consultants and healthcare professionals have been added.

The Senator may be aware that I turned the sod on the new block at the hospital. We are now looking, as a priority, at the second of those blocks. To summarise, many beds have been added and many beds are in development. The level of staffing of the clinical workforce has been increased very significantly over the last while. The first thing we need to do is acknowledge that the requests for more capacity from UHL are fair and reasonable. That is the ask of the hospital to us in the Oireachtas. I agree with the ask and the Government is stepping up to that by adding more capacity. We also have a condition for the hospital. This condition is that the hospital be run according to the ways we know work in some of the hospitals that are doing the best in emergency departments. For example, I compared University Hospital Waterford, UHW, with UHL and looked at the normal rostered hours for senior decision-makers. In spite of the fact that UHW has about half the emergency department workforce of UHL, the workforce is rostered on over many more hours, later in the evening and at weekends. We need to see that happening in UHL also. This has to be a partnership