Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am sorry but Members are using my time. This is the second time I have had a matter selected for the Topical Issue debate concerning University Hospital Limerick for which the Minister has not turned up. On the previous occasion the Minister of State, Deputy Catherine Byrne, substituted for him and she said she would come back to me with the answer but she did not do that. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, if he commits to it that he will ensure I will get a response from the Minister.

The issue I raise concerns the imminent opening of the new emergency department in University Hospital Limerick, which is very welcome. It is hoped to open the department this month. I am delighted to see €24 million is being invested in a critical piece of infrastructure for our city. The amalgamation of Ennis, Nenagh and St John's hospitals was rushed and the promised centre of excellence was not delivered at the time. To date, the amalgamation has been nothing but a disaster which has led to the present emergency department being described by the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, in recent years as unfit for purpose. The situation remains the same today.

While it is great that the new emergency department is opening, I wish to address some concerns surrounding the move to the new facility that the Minister will, I hope, address. People in Limerick and the entire mid-west have waited a long time for the new emergency department which will benefit patient care and staff working conditions significantly. Having waited for years for it, it is essential we get it right.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has raised serious concerns about the move to the new emergency department. According to HSE management, a minimum of 24 patients will be placed on trolleys and recliner chairs in the new emergency department. That has come as a severe shock. The use of trolleys in emergency departments is unacceptable. We need to move away from that means of operation and not embed them into new plans. It is unacceptable that HSE management in the hospital intends to transfer the existing trolley problem to the new emergency department rather than use it as an opportunity finally to solve the problem.

In addition, the INMO has suggested to management that space freed up in the old emergency department could be used to accommodate patients. That would lead to less overcrowding and increased patient safety, but the suggestion has been rejected by management. Other concerns raised by nurses working in the hospital include insufficient staff being assigned to the new emergency department and a lack of staff with an emergency department specialist qualification. I have long campaigned for adequate staffing and funding for University Hospital Limerick. I know how important the hospital is to Limerick and the wider mid-west, and I want to ensure the new emergency department is staffed and resourced adequately.

I know the staff will do their best, as they always have done for many years, to ensure patients are properly looked after when they move into the new emergency department, but they need assistance from management and the Government to address issues they can foresee as they are on the ground. Will the Minister of State ensure the Minister commits to addressing the concerns highlighted and that he will come back to me on them?

See this speech in context