Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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25. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to address the chronic overcrowding in the emergency department at University Hospital Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61226/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I have witnessed the challenging conditions for patients and staff in the ED during recent visits to Limerick.  At my request, the HSE’s Performance Management and Improvement Unit led an intensive engagement with UHL team members throughout the summer in response to my concerns about the ED performance and the findings of the HIQA report published in June. The PMIU’s ongoing engagement with the Hospital Group and CHO continues to support and oversee the implementation of initiatives to improve services in the region. These measures include a renewed focus on hospital avoidance, patient flow and discharge planning, and regular and frequent assessment of patients with long stays in hospital. 

It is accepted that a key part of the solution for Limerick is additional beds. 150 additional beds have been opened in the UL Hospital Group since 1st Jan 2020 and 98 of these have been in UHL. In mid-October I broke ground on the new 96-bed inpatient block at UHL. This project consists of a 4-storey, 96 single bed acute inpatient ward and Renal Dialysis Units at UHL and has a total capital investment of just over €90 million.

Alongside the national Winter Plan, Limerick’s bespoke site-level plan focusses on local needs, including recruitment of ED staff, and integration between health services such as improving access to GP diagnostics.