A strategy has been put in place to address overcrowding problems at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) and pressures at the country’s 28 other emergency departments (ED).
On Wednesday, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly met senior department personnel and the HSE to “discuss immediate responses” to problems.
A recent report on UHL by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) reflected on a “grossly overcrowded” ED placing people at risk of harm, jeopardising the quality and safety of care and compromising dignity, privacy and confidentiality of patients.
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The 39-page report published last Friday was based on the findings of three inspectors during an unannounced inspection on March 15th. Hiqa subsequently escalated concerns around risk and quality of care to the HSE’s chief operations officer.
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The hospital’s chief executive and the head of Mid-West Community Healthcare have since been told the HSE’s Performance Management Improvement Unit (PMIU) is to “engage urgently” with the hospital group.
A statement issued by the HSE on Wednesday detailed that a joint team from the HSE, UL Hospital Group and the Mid-West Community Services is being established to address the “unprecedented level of demand” at UHL.
“The team is similar to teams that have recently supported services in both Cork University Hospital and Kerry General Hospital,” the statement said, with the team set to be onsite for up to six weeks.
According to the HSE, the PMIU will lead the process “supporting the hospital and community services in driving a programme of work to respond more effectively to the current pressures”
Urgent
The unit is expected to provide intensive support to hospital and community teams to ensure that issues identified in a recent assessment and in the Hiqa report are addressed “as a matter of urgency”, said the Department of Health on Wednesday.
“While recognising that the programme of investment in hospital and community capacity in the region is ongoing, the PMIU will ensure that all necessary immediate steps are taken to address the safety issues identified, including chronic overcrowding,” it said.
As part of that move, a detailed plan is to be developed ensuring such issues do not reoccur, focusing in particular on admission avoidance, pre-admissions, community interventions and alternative pathways as well as patient flow through the hospital and ED.
Mr Donnelly said all necessary resources will be committed to ensuring safe and appropriate levels of care are restored in Limerick without delay.
