University Hospital Limerick proposes using private hospital floor space to ease overcrowding

David Raleigh

The HSE is seeking a deal to rent floorspace at the privately run Bon Secours Limerick (BSL) Hospital, to cater for public patients attending at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) due to persistent and dangerous patient overcrowding there.

Discussions are underway between the two hospitals to finalise a plan that the HSE hopes will ease pressure on the public system at UHL.

University Hospital Limerick is consistently the most overcrowded hospital nationally, and it has been the subject of a number of internal HSE reviews following a number of patient deaths that occurred during severe overcrowding conditions.

The €213million plush BSL opened at Ballysimon, on the outskirts of the Treaty City, last September, and its calm surroundings are a stark contrast to the often chaotic nature of the public hospital system.

In response to a query from this reporter, HSE Mid West said: “HSE Mid West and Bon Secours Limerick (BSL) have been in discussions about transfer of appropriate patients to BSL to alleviate pressure on UHL during periods of peak demand.”

“It is hoped an agreement will be finalised in the coming weeks,” it said.

The HSE Mid West added that “as discussions are ongoing it would be inappropriate to comment further”.

The Bon Secours have been contacted for comment.

Overcrowding issues have persisted at UHL despite the addition of a €105million 96-bed unit on the hospital grounds last October.

Last December the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said the government would implement three options put forward by health watchdog, HIQA, to ease UHL’s patient overcrowding crisis.

These include the further expansion of capacity at UHL at its present site at Dooradoyle; an extension of the UHL campus on a second site under a shared governance and resourcing model; and the development of a new Model 3 hospital in the mid west region, which would include an Emergency Department (ED), in addition to the present ED at UHL.

Twenty-four hour EDs were closed in Ennis, Co Clare, St Johns, Limerick, and Nenagh, north Tipperary, and reconfigured to UHL in 2009, after the government implemented a plan to make UHL a “Centre of Excellence”.

However, the redevelopment of the ED at UHL in 2017 has failed to adequately cater for the high attendances from around the mid west, north Cork and north Kerry.

This morning UHL was again the most overcrowded hospital nationally.

Of the 734 patients waiting for a bed on trolleys nationally, 17% (127) were waiting for a bed at UHL at 8am Wednesday, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, which publishes daily trolley count figures for each hospital.

Figures published by the HSE appeared to contradict the INMOs figures, and showed there were 72 patients on trolleys at UHL at 8am Wednesday.