Limerick hospital accused of 'PR exercise' over trolley data changes

UNIVERSITY Hospital Limerick (UHL) staff have been ordered to change the way they record the numbers waiting for a bed in the emergency department.

Critics say the move will make the number of people waiting on trolleys appear lower than what the reality is, with one member of staff describing it as “a PR exercise” on the hospital’s part.

Nursing staff at UHL have for many years provided data on the number of people waiting for a bed in the emergency department to both the HSE nationally and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO).

The Dooradoyle facility often has the highest number of people waiting on trolleys in the country.

Now, staff have been told to collect the data differently upon a request from hospital boss Prof Colette Cowan.

“Taking into account the facilities available in ED (the emergency department), in particular, the high-spec of the cubicles which are better fitted then many of our single room accommodation in our older wards, please only return those who on a corridor waiting a bed. Those in cubicles can be considered as being in an appropriate bed space,” an email states.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one UHL worker said: “It’s the way this hospital works. It’s all about PR and looking good, rather than identifying a problem and looking to sort it out. If there are vulnerable patients on trolleys why are they not being included? What does this achieve?”

Senator Paul Gavan, a former Siptu health official, said: “The decision to exclude patients in cubicles in ED when counting numbers awaiting a hospital bed is nothing short of outrageous. It’s a deeply cynical move and one which will further damage confidence and trust between staff and management.”

In response, a UHL spokesperson confirmed: "The changes in how our data has been reported since August 12 reflect the reconfiguration of our emergency department as part of our response to Covid-19 and are also consistent with the national agreement from 2013"

They said as a result of the pandemic, separate emergency pathways have been development, which stream suspect Covid-19 cases away from general cases.

"As the ED is equipped with state-of-the-art single rooms and cubicles - and because we are challenged on isolation facilities around the hospital - the ED is an appropriate environment for suspect Covid-19 cases requiring single-room isolation pending a swab result or clinical decision," the spokesperson said.

All this comes as staff of the three unions representing the majority of front-line workers in Dooradoyle are to be balloted for some form of action, with Limerick Trades Council president Mike McNamara saying there’s been “an almost complete breakdown in industrial relations.”

Chief among concerns are the risks to patients, overcrowding in a Covid-19 environment and excessive workloads arising due to unfilled nursing posts.

Already, 97% of non-nursing staff connected to Siptu have voted to go to the gate.

Nurses connected to Siptu will vote shortly, as will members of the INMO.

On top of this, staff of the Forsa trade union, which represents clerical, administrative, plus health and social care professionals, are to carry out a survey with the results of this informing their next move.

While there’s no suggestion these workers will strike during a health crisis like the Covid-19 pandemic, Ger Kennedy of Siptu says there’s a feeling among staff that management at UHL “don’t seem to recognise [workers] have stepped up to the mark”.

“There is a failure to recognise exactly what they’ve gone through. They don’t have adequate support, they are not listened to. It is getting to a stage where they’re saying to us, we’ve had enough of this,” he said, “25% of the people who’ve come down with Covid-19 have been health workers. That’s a staggering figure.”

Mr McNamara, who represents Forsa staff added: “It’s great to go to the press or put a sign up outside the gate saying thanks to our front-line workers. But then front-line workers need specific things.”

For their part, a spokesperson for UHL said they’re “disappointed” with the ballot amid the increasing number of Covid-19 cases regionally.

They praised its staff for providing “exceptional service throughout the Covid-19 pandemic in keeping patients, their colleagues and community safe.”

The hospital also said it remains committed to filling vacancies to reduce the pressure on the current staff, with a push on to bring 150 workers in by December.

Mary Fogarty, the INMO’s assistant director of industrial relations says its “unprecedented” that all three unions are of the same view to potentially take industrial actions.