Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Maurice Quinlivan for raising this very important issue. I know he cares passionately about the hospital in Limerick. I will convey all his concerns to the Minister, Deputy Simon Harris, who sends his apologies for not being present today.

I welcome this opportunity to address the House on this issue. Delivering the new emergency department at University Hospital Limerick is a key project for both the Department of Health and the HSE and is identified as a priority in the HSE National Service Plan 2017. The building is now complete and should be ready to open shortly. There is a bit of good news. The emergency department in University Hospital Limerick is one of the busiest in the country, with approximately 65,000 attendances annually. I am mindful too that demand for emergency department services at the hospital continues to rise. In 2016, University Hospital Limerick experienced a 4.6% increase in new emergency department presentations and we have seen a further increase, of 1%, so far this year.

The House will be aware that overcrowding at the emergency department in University Hospital Limerick has been a concern for some time. I am well aware of the situation there as I have been in the hospital with family members in the past. It is clear that the accommodation and resources in the existing emergency department are not sufficient to support a modern emergency department. The emergency department in University Hospital Limerick frequently works above capacity and that contributes to inefficient ways of working and poor patient experience. However, the end is in sight and there is no doubt the opening of the new emergency department will represent a significant boost for patients in Limerick, Clare, north Tipperary and surrounding areas. Staff too will benefit from the very much improved working environment. I am delighted, therefore, to confirm that the new emergency department will be three times the size of the current department and will provide modern, safe and fit for purpose facilities that meet the expectations of patients and families.

At the same time the new facility will provide high quality, comfortable accommodation that protects patients’ privacy and dignity. This is a very important issue for patients and their families. I understand that the new accident and emergency department has been designed on a pod-based system. The design will improve efficiency and once patients have been triaged they will be assigned to different areas of the emergency department, depending on the seriousness of their condition. Each of these units or pods will have its own waiting area which will accommodate patients waiting to be seen by a clinician following triage. This is very important and is good news.

Clinical teams will be assigned to these units and will be responsible for the treatment, discharge or admittance of patients, within their particular unit. Because of these separate units, it is expected that the time from triage to treatment will be much improved, resulting in fewer patients waiting extended periods of time in the emergency department, and an improvement in the patient experience time. It is also planned to open an interim short-stay unit for admitted patients in the area of the current emergency department, which was occupied by paediatric patients and the clinical decision unit. This unit will have capacity for 17 patients and will dramatically reduce the number of patients waiting on trolleys in the emergency department. The CEO of the UL hospitals group has confirmed that there is no basis for any suggestion that 24 patients will be accommodated on trolleys in the new emergency department.

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