Limerick TDs tackled on UHL crisis: Niall Collins FF TD Limerick County, Minister of State

Following the declaration of a ‘major internal incident’ at UHL, we ask local TDs where the fault lies and what they think should be done to solve the crisis

What steps are you currently taking to try to address the issues which have blighted University Hospital Limerick in recent months and years and which saw a ‘major internal incident’ declared at the hospital on January 2, 2023?

My party Fianna Fail and I since we entered Government two and a half years ago having been out of Government for the previous 10 years are focused on building capacity at every level across our health services to meet with the increased demand and the existing deficits present in the service. We are adding new bed capacity, over 100 new beds in UHL with more to come, recruiting more consultants where presently we have 3,800 across all our hospitals up 1,300 in 10 years with 1,000 more to come. We are also hiring more nurses, social carers and training three times more GPs. Also, we have built five extensive new Primary Care Centres in the city and ones across County Limerick in Kilmallock, Croom and Newcastle West with plans for Abbeyfeale, Cappamore and Rathkeale advanced.

Where - or with whom - do you think the fault lies in terms of the crisis at University Hospital Limerick?

The politicians should be held to account and rightly so. The commitments given when reconfiguration happened in 2009 were not delivered upon. Now, we in Government, are addressing the deficits in both infrastructure and the workers needed to provide a proper level of service. For example, my Department of Further and Higher Education is increasing the number of places available in medical colleges and nursing degree courses.

Do you think the current management team at University Hospital Limerick should be retained? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes, anyone who argues that sacking the management team is the solution is simply missing the point and being populist. The management team are constrained by the capacity and resources at their disposal. Therefore, expanding capacity at all levels which we are now actively doing will allow management to provide the level of service and care that the people of Limerick deserve.

In no more than 200 words, how do you believe the ongoing crisis at University Hospital Limerick can be solved?

It is widely recognised that having consultant decision-making on-site results in reduced emergency admissions, shorter lengths of stay and more complete care plans for discharge. In 2019, 92% of patients were discharged from Monday to Friday; only 5% were discharged on a Saturday and 3% on a Sunday.

The presence of consultants could enhance the health service’s ability to maintain efficient and timely patient flow out-of-hours and to maximise existing capacity. We employ over 3,800 consultants in the public system. This represents an increase of over 250 in the past 12 months and of 1,300 over the last 10 years. However, it is recognised that our ratio of consultants to population in Ireland has historically been far too low and remains low.

The Government has committed to recruiting an additional 1,000 consultants under the new Sláintecare Contract. In addition, consultants will move from working 9:00am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, to a roster that will allow hospitals to roster them over 80 hours: 8am to 10pm on Monday to Friday and 8:00am to 6:00pm on Saturday. The contract will allow us to continue to build our consultant numbers to provide a better-quality health service for patients.

Do you think a vote of no confidence should be tabled against Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly?

No.