Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing this matter to be debated. I represent the constituency of Limerick City.

We have severe overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick, UHL, emergency department, ED. HIQA carried out an inspection of the ED at UHL on 15 March and issued a report. The report found that there were 88 people on trolleys. That figure has been consistent every since. There was a welcome change this morning when it dropped to 63. When the report came out, my view was very simple, namely, that the people of Limerick and the mid-west are entitled to the same delivery of healthcare as those in any other part of the country. At the moment, that level of healthcare is not being provided due to of the crisis of overcrowding at UHL. Staff are working very hard and are under great pressure. There is great fatigue among them.

I called on the Taoiseach on Tuesday to have the HSE provide assistance at a national level. I welcome that the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, last night requested that the chief operations officer of the HSE write to the CEO of UHL and the chief officer of Mid West Community Healthcare informing them that she had mandated that the performance management improvement unit of the HSE is to engage urgently with the hospital and Mid West Community Healthcare in the context of addressing the issues raised in the HIQA report. My understanding is that officials from the performance management improvement unit are now in UHL and will be there for the next four to six weeks to assist management to ensure that we can address the issues that HIQA found, such as an inadequate number of nurses in the ED on 15 March. Notwithstanding the fact that we have had 98 additional acute beds and ten ICU and high dependency unit beds provided in recent years, the report states that these did not seem to make a significant difference in the context of the number of people on trolleys in the ED.

I know many of the families involved. I know that this matter had reached the point where the performance management improvement unit needed to come in to UHL. The Minister has committed to providing whatever resources are needed. What I want is an update to the effect that officials from the performance management improvement unit are in the hospital and that an action plan will be put in place. I am also seeking information on how quickly that action plan will be implemented. We have regularly seen more than 100 people on trolleys in the hospital. That is unacceptable.

The medical, nursing and other staff at the hospital are doing their level best, but they are battling against a situation in our region where we have the second highest number of ED presentations and the lowest number of ED inpatient beds. In fact, we have the second lowest ratio of any of the model 4 hospitals in terms of the number of inpatient beds, which stands at 530. We need additional beds. A 96-bed acute is due to come on stream, but we also need an elective hospital. The more immediate issue is to ask when will the action plan to be drawn up by the performance management improvement unit be issued? When will we see improvements for the people and the patients of Limerick and the mid-west?

Great urgency is required in respect of this matter. I very much welcome that officials from the performance management improvement unit are in UHL, but I want an update from the Minister of State as to when the action plan will be put in place.

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