Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I agree the situation in University Hospital Limerick is not acceptable in terms of both the number of people waiting on trolleys and the patient experience times for those who may or may not be admitted. There is a very significant job of work going on. An expert team has gone in for four weeks, as the Deputy said, and it is expecting to finish its work towards the end of next week. I will then be engaging directly with the HSE on the matter. I have asked for very specific actions that can be taken to reduce the numbers coming into the hospital. We want to make sure the hospital has the resources it needs, not just in the emergency department but also in diagnostics and further up the hospital in terms of beds for people. Critically, one of the big pressures right now is delayed discharge. The latest advice I have for the region is that up to two in every three nursing homes are still not accessible for discharge because of the 14-day period that has to elapse after a Covid outbreak. I will revert to colleagues in the Dáil generally and to the Deputy when that work is completed.

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