Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Nobody wants to see anyone on a trolley. It is acknowledged that the numbers on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick are unacceptably high. The HSE is working actively with the UHL group to ease congestion in the hospital, with the focus on facilitating transfers to level 2 hospitals, providing assistance at rehabilitation units and primary care services and the prioritisation of diagnostics to aid patient discharges. In addition to the new emergency department at University Hospital Limerick, a further 25 beds have been opened since 2017, including eight as part of the winter plan in 2018-19. A capital budget of €19.5 million has been approved for the provision of a modular 60-bed inpatient ward block at University Hospital Limerick, with funding of €10 million allocated in 2019. The new modular block will include three wards, comprising 20 single rooms with en suite facilities, two of which will have full isolation facilities and provide care and treatment for patients, from admission to discharge. The HSE has advised that the enabling works are complete and that the main contractor is commencing work.

The HSE has advised that while there is no recruitment embargo or moratorium, there is a priority requirement for all HSE services to get to and maintain an affordable staffing level that will be sustainable through 2019 and 2020, while also prioritising the delivery of safe services. In the light of this, the HSE advises that it has introduced control measures related to staffing and recruitment to ensure it will live within the resources provided. This means that in some hospital groups and community health organisations the filling of non-critical replacement posts will be paused. The preference is for the controls to remain in place for as short a period as is necessary, with an ongoing review, until there is satisfactory evidence of traction and delivery of balanced financial plans from hospital groups and CHOs.

The UHL group reports that it has recruited 68 staff in the past five weeks, 48 of whom are graduate nurses and midwives.

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