Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I rise today to follow up the conversation we had yesterday on University Hospital Limerick. I know it has been raised in the House a couple of times already today. I know it has been suggested there are a lack of resources and investment from the Government, particularly the Fine Gael Government, but I remind Senators on the other side of the House that more than 110 beds have been provided in the past 12 months at University Hospital Limerick. This is not about resources and there is something wrong at University Hospital Limerick. I feel so sorry for the patients and worry for their safety. I also think of the staff and their working conditions.

Major investment has been made at the hospital, with two extensions made to the building. There have been almost 900 people on trolleys over the past 12 months, and there are 75 people on trolleys today after 95 people being on trolleys yesterday. There is definitely something wrong. Are people not being discharged quickly enough? Examples have been given here of people attending unnecessarily or perhaps just to get on a waiting list. There must be an approach from the bottom up or the top down. I asked yesterday and several times before that the Minister be brought in to discuss the matter.

At this stage I support the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, which has called for an independent review and for somebody to be brought in from outside to look at what is happening in the hospital. Maybe there could be a fresh approach. I am not condemning anybody working there or anything like that because everybody is doing their best. I really feel we need a fresh approach and way of looking at University Hospital Limerick. That is for the safety of patients and the people accessing those services. There are 562 beds in the hospital alone and there are four other hospitals in the same group with more than 200 beds. We need an independent assessment now.