Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Before I begin, I acknowledge the passing earlier this week of Vicky Phelan. Although she was born in Kilkenny, Vicky was a Limerick woman and a tremendous advocate for women's health. Her honourable request was that action be taken immediately on cervical checks. We are all obliged to do so as parliamentarians.

Last month, University Hospital Limerick asked members of the public not to attend the emergency department unless absolutely necessary. Nobody would attend the emergency department in Limerick unless it was absolutely necessary because people could end up staying there for 30 to 60 hours before being seen. Last month, University Hospital Limerick was under huge pressure. We are now in the winter months and the number of people being treated on trolleys at University Hospital Limerick remains high. By autumn, we had already seen the total number of people treated on trolleys exceed the number in the entirety of 2021. Halfway through November, 767 people have been treated on trolleys. As I am sure the Minister of State is aware, Covid-19 and seasonal flu presentations will put additional pressure on staff at UHL. Record numbers are being treated on trolleys, and high numbers are presenting to the emergency department. None of this is new to the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, or to previous Ministers. I have outlined this situation to them for seven years, since I was elected, but it seems to get worse rather than better each month.

One would have thought the HIQA report, following its visit to the emergency department of UHL on 15 March, would have spurred the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, into reacting. He is well aware that in three of four categories in which it was measured, the hospital was found to be non-compliant. Despite this damning report, the issues continue. The emergency department continues to see high numbers of presentations. The University Limerick Hospitals Group advised that, in 2021, there were 76,473 presentations, and projects that the number will increase by 4% by the end of 2022. This is a huge stress on the functioning of the hospital. Of those 76,473 presentations in 2021, 8,720 waited for more than 12 hours to be treated. Not only is that a significant inconvenience for these people, it is also unsafe. It is worth reminding the Dáil, as I have said on numerous occasions, that the Royal College of Emergency Medicine in the UK notes there is, on average, one excess death per every 67 patients waiting in an emergency department for eight to 12 hours.

The vast majority of staff, including porters, kitchen staff, ambulance paramedics, doctors and consultants do an exceptional job in this impossible situation. However, staff cannot continue to work this way. Patients need to have more dignity when, unfortunately, they need assistance at a hospital. I am concerned that if the situation continues, we will have avoidable deaths and accidents. I have been contacted almost daily, as I am sure have other public representatives in the mid-west, by patients and their families about the treatment of their loved ones at the hospital. We have all had reports of dementia patients being able to leave the hospital and go missing. We have had feedback from others that they simply cannot get a response from the hospital when they try to call for updates on their loved ones.

The hospital is short by at least 68 non-consultant doctors, as the Minister confirmed to me in a parliamentary question, and by at least 200 beds, as the report states. Filling in these gaps would only bring the hospital on par a with hospitals of a similar size in the State. The Deloitte report went further and found that an additional 302 inpatient beds and 63 daycare beds are needed by 2026. It also outlined the demand for additional staff in the emergency department, with 83% of beds allocated to those who presented through the emergency department. A new 96-bed unit is under construction but it will only offer 48 additional beds, with half of the stock replacing old beds. Will the Minister of State outline what contingency plans are in place for the coming months so that seasonal presentations can be managed and staff have the opportunity to work in decent conditions? Will the Minister of State confirm if the Minister has planned for it all?

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