Surgeries at three Limerick hospitals postponed for second day

UL HOSPITALS Group (ULHG) have confirmed that surgeries planned in its three Limerick hospitals have been postponed for a second day.

The elective surgeries have been postponed in University Hospital Limerick, St John’s Hospital and Croom Orthopaedic Hospital. Surgeries are also postponed in ULHG’s Nenagh and Ennis hospitals.

The hospital is dealing with a large number of ill patients presenting at the hospital and the decision was therefore taken to postpone these surgeries.

According to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, 143 patients were waiting on a trolley at UHL on Monday, March 4 and 115 yesterday, March 5.

Limerick Fianna Fáil TD, Willie O’Dea questioned Taoiseach Leo Varadkar about the current overcrowding crisis at UHL

"The question of University Hospital Limerick was raised already this morning. I want to say to the Taoiseach that while I appreciate and accept what the Government has done and is doing, the situation on the ground there is beyond appalling, quite frankly. There was a time when we had three emergency departments, which a group of experts within the HSE decided to abolish.

“They said the best idea was to centralise everything and that it would be a wonderful success. If what is there now is a success, I hate to see what failure looks like. Will the Government give any consideration to reopening at least one of those EDs because we are at the end of our tether?" Mr O’Dea said

In response, the Taoiseach said: "Regarding Deputy O'Dea's comments on UHL, the advice from the experts, the people who are emergency department consultants and who work in emergency departments, is that reopening closed emergency departments or opening new emergency departments in Ireland is not the right way to go. 

“They say we already have resources spread very thinly and they can provide a better service if it is centralised in a number of locations. However, I know that must sound absurd to people who are experiencing overcrowding, whether it is in CUH today or in UHL, but the solution is to go forwards not back. That means making sure we have the additional capacity in UHL but also building up services appropriately in Ennis Hospital, St John's Hospital and Nenagh Hospital and in community services."