Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Three of us from different parts of the mid-west region and of different political perspectives are raising this matter, which relates to the intolerable position faced by patients in the mid-west as a result of overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick. Looking at any statistics for the past month or year, the hospital has been at the top of the list regarding people waiting on trolleys. There is no sign of that letting up, even during the summer when one might think things are going to be a bit easier. We simply cannot allow this to continue and face another winter, or perhaps more than one, before we get the promised 96-bed unit. We absolutely need interim solutions now. Such solutions exist. For example, we could open all the available beds in the area. A number of us have raised the idea of a modular unit. It is essential that the level of staffing is sufficient for the needs of the people in the mid-west. I do not have time to get into the statistics involved but a senior clinician, Dr. Gerard Burke, has demonstrated that there is an inequality in the number of whole-time equivalent acute hospital staff in the mid-west compared with other regions. It is estimated at 10.16 per 1,000 in the mid-west, with the national average being 11.4 per 1,000. We are understaffed and under-resourced. We absolutely need a solution and funding in the service plan and forthcoming budget to ensure this matter can be addressed quickly.

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