Dáil debates

Wednesday, 18 January 2023

Capacity in the Health Services: Motion [Private Members]

 

6:50 pm

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

I attended an online meeting with the Minister for Health and the Taoiseach together with other public representatives of the mid-west.

Obviously, the issue there was University Hospital Limerick, UHL, which is what I will focus my time on, where we are at and how we get out of the mess we are in, which was created by a previous Fianna Fáil Government.

I will quote my colleague who was our health spokesperson at the time, Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, when he spoke in the debate in the Chamber on a motion tabled, believe it or not, by the current Government party, Fine Gael, on 10 February 2009. He said: “No matter how often we try to impress that on the Minister, she remains dogged in her determination to move ahead with her foolhardy plans.” The foolhardy plans he was talking about were closing the emergency departments in Nenagh and Ennis, and St. John's in my constituency. He also quoted a consultant, who said:

Limerick Regional Hospital can't meet its own requirements at the moment. The HSE is devising a plan without looking at the situation on the ground. Consultants refer patients who need a bed in Limerick on a daily basis and are regularly told there is no bed for them due to overcrowding and the fact that there can be up to 30 people on trolleys.

This was well flagged in 2009. Last year, more than 18,000 people waited on trolleys in UHL. They presented to the emergency department but there was no bed for them, even though they were assessed as being medically in need of a bed. These are people we know – neighbours, friends and close family relatives in some cases - but we see no plan to get ourselves out of that.

I appreciate that the Minister attended the meeting and that the Taoiseach was also present. There was confirmation from the Minister and the Taoiseach but I would like the Minister to put on the record of the House the details on the new 96-bed units at UHL. There is one under construction at the moment and there will be two additional ones, so that is three 96-bed units. As the Minister knows, the first will only deliver 48 new beds as it will take 48 out of the equation as well. What is he going to do to fast-track the other two 96-bed units for UHL?

We cannot go on the way we are going at the moment, as it is clear it is not safe. It has been fine in the past week but that still means 40 to 60 people a day on trolleys, which is shameful, although it is not too bad for our hospital. Nonetheless, we want to get it down to two or three, or even zero, but not the situation we have, where we started off the year with 95 people a day on trolleys. There has been massive intervention but we cannot sustain interventions like we had in the past week or two. I remind the Minister that the worst months for trolley numbers in Limerick were May and June last year. That is my contribution, which is focused on the two units. I ask the Minister to confirm that those will be speeded up.

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