Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will speak about the impact that the overcrowding in the accident and emergency department at University Hospital Limerick is having on the lives of real people. The hospital is due to get an MRI scanner.I hope that will be in place quickly. A review is under way on the operation of the hospital. I ask for that to be expedited to see exactly what specific plans we need in place over the next number of months until we have the 60-bed block completed.

Furthermore, I ask that a review would be done on available bed capacity in the other hospitals within the group, including St. John's Hospital, Limerick, Ennis Hospital, Nenagh Hospital and Croom Hospital. We need to ensure bed capacity is used in the most efficient way possible looking at all hospitals as the one unit. My main concern is for patients, many of them elderly, who are waiting a huge length of time. A great debt is owed to the staff who are working in the accident and emergency department because of the pressures they are under. We have to ensure that until the 60-bed block is in place, we have the correct measures and the necessary resources in place. I ask that the Leader of the House would convey to the Minister for Health the urgency of this, particularly with the overcrowding of University Hospital Limerick.