BREAKING: Minister for Health announces that a new hospital is needed for Limerick and the Mid-West

THE MINISTER for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has announced that she is to go ahead with all three options proposed by HIQA for University Hospital Limerick and the Mid-West, but that a new hospital will not be delivered soon. 

Minister Carroll MacNeill said this lunchtime on RTE Radio One that she will be progressing with two options - option A and B from the HIQA recommendations, which are to expand capacity at UHL and also have another hospital building close to Dooradoyle. 

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"What I would like to achieve is the delivery of all three options in an efficient way," she said. 

She added that there is "no question that the Mid-West needs another hospital at scale", but that this is something she needs to plan with clinicians and Cabinet members. 

The minister stressed that she's conscious of looking at "broader and appropriate options" and does not want to add congestion to the UHL site in Dooradoyle, which is already busy. 

"Not everything has to be done in an acute hospital," the Minister said, adding that moving outpatient services to other sites has worked well in other areas like Galway. 

Fianna Fáil TD, Willie O'Dea said that the announcement from the minister reflects the lobbying from politicians since the HIQA recommendations were released. 

He said: “There is quite a lot of land in the immediate vicinity of the hospital,” but did not elaborate on whether or not any sites had been identified for a new hospital and said that he is not aware of any specific site that has been earmarked by the HSE. 

Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill also would not divulge whether or not any sites had been identified, saying that she did not want to divulge any commercially sensitive information.

She also commended UHL staff for their efforts in making improvements, including the discharge of patients at the weekends and the increase in consultants on staff at the weekends. 

"People in Limerick are getting exceptionally good care when they are in the hospital - the difficulty is getting into the emergency department," she said. 

Senator Maria Byrne has welcomed the announcement from the Health Minister.

"I would like to pay compliment to the current management and staff in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) along with the advocate groups who have been working tirelessly to ensure the development of the hospital in the right direction," she said.

Deputy O'Dea also paid tribute to the staff who "have performed and continue to perform heroically, in often very difficult conditions and I think everybody in the Mid-West owes them a great debt of gratitude."

Ms Byrne also acknowledged the continued work from the minister since she entered the Department of Health.

"As John Wall, chair of the HSE Mid-West and service user council summarised earlier, this plan marks a "once in a lifetime opportunity" and is finally a day where clinicians, politicians, and advocates are speaking with one voice."

She added: "I have been raising the issues within UHL since I was elected to Seanad Éireann in 2016, and I welcome that we finally have a sustainable commitment and plan to move forward, which will ensure the people of Limerick, and the Mid West have a proper health service available to them."

Earlier today (Tuesday, December 16), Labour TD Alan Kelly held up the Limerick Leader front page showing four young women who have all died in UHL saying that another hospital in the Mid-West is the only option for the region. 

This follows on from an impassioned plea from Deputy Kelly last week in the Dáil where he spoke about how much he has raised the ongoing issues at UHL throughout his political career. 

On September 30 of this year, HIQA published a review into urgent and emergency care in the Mid-West, making three recommendations. 

These were; option A to expand the current capacity at University Hospital Limerick, option B to build another hospital building close to the Dooradoyle campus or option C to build a new Model 3 hospital, which would include a new emergency department (ED). 

Various campaigners and politicians have come out against these recommendations saying that urgent action is needed and that the plan needs to be a combination of all three. 

The review predicted that there could be up to a 23% increase in patients presenting at UHL for emergency care treatment between now and 2040. 

The HIQA review stated “that demand for urgent and emergency healthcare services and inpatient care continues to outpace available bed capacity at UHL.”

The closure of the three emergency departments in St John’s Hospital, Ennis and Nenagh in 2009 has had a severe knock-on effect at UHL. 

On a regular basis, UHL has the highest number of patients waiting on a trolley, according to figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO).