'Transformative' plans for health in Limerick may go well beyond HIQA recommendations

HEALTH Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill says she has a “blank page” when it comes to “transformative” plans for healthcare in Limerick, which could go far beyond HIQA’s recommendations.

And she added it is “not impossible” for there to be two Model 4 hospitals - able to handle the most complex of medical cases - within just 10 minutes of each other to the west of the city.

“I’m open to everything,” Ms MacNeill told reporters as she confirmed the purchase of 43-acres of land two kilometres from University Hospital Limerick (UHL) for €14m to support its expansion.

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Published last September, a report from the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) highlighted critical capacity issues at UHL and made a number of recommendations, three of which Ms MacNeill has accepted.

The three options identified were: Option A – expand capacity at UHL on the Dooradoyle site; Option B – extend the UHL hospital campus to comprise the existing Dooradoyle site and another site, in close proximity to UHL, to support the delivery of healthcare services under a single governance; and Option C – develop a Model 3hospital in the HSE Mid West, providing a second emergency department for the region.

The move to purchase the land near UHL came as a direct response to the report.

Crucially, the HIQA report recommended a Model 3 hospital be delivered for the region in the long-term. Model 3 hospitals provide emergency care, but without specialist services.

However, the Minister has said the scale of the newly-acquired site provides for greater ambition - including a Model 4 facility, a step up from Model 3.

It means Government can pursue a so-called “HIQA BC+ model”, she said.

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“This is an absolutely blank page, and what I want to do is meet the needs of the people of the region. That includes more access in terms of urgent and emergency care. Everything is on the table,” she said.

As for what will be on the site, Ms MacNeill confirmed she will be putting in place a project board, made up of regional, clinical management representatives and others.

She will task them with developing “a vision for the region for the future”, and wants a report later this year.

“My challenge is to get to the most ambitious proposal available,” she said.

The Dublin TD did not rule out the possibility the University Maternity Hospital - currently at Ennis Road - could move to the site.

While Ms MacNeill could not put timelines, investment or job numbers on the development of the site, she said: “This is a really serious development not just for the social fabric of the Mid-West, but for the economy of the Mid-West.

“For growth in terms of jobs, in terms of supporting the plan to push development out of Dublin and to the west.”

And she believes on this occasion, the Department of Health has been swift to act.

“The HIQA report was published in September. In the months after that, I recommended to Government we would accept the options. It’s eight weeks later and we have acquired the site.

On this occasion, we have been rather pacy in moving forward,” she said.

The current UHL is a Model 4 hospital.