Limerick TDs tackled on UHL crisis: Maurice Quinlivan, Sinn Féin TD for Limerick City

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?

Sinn Féin has published detailed plans of how to address the crisis in our health service. The issues blighting UHL are not a new phenomenon. They have been allowed to fester by successive governments.  Around the Cabinet table there are three former health ministers, they all are responsible for this situation.

If in Government, we would:
*Increase spending on healthcare by €3.3 billion to move from a failing, two tier health system to universal healthcare.
*Recruit 6,600 additional frontline health workers including nurses, midwives and consultants.
*Roll out free GP care and free prescriptions.
*End two-tier access to hospital care and deal with the trolley crisis.
*Invest an additional €15 million in the ambulance service.
*Prioritise disability services and mental health.
*Support older people by increasing home help hours, respite hours and providing additional nursing home beds.
*Add 2,500 acute hospital beds to public hospitals over 5 years.

Where - or with whom - do you think the fault lies in terms of the crisis at University Hospital Limerick?
This failure is a result of inaction by the government. I appealed countless times in the Dáil for the Health Minister to address this perpetual crisis. The Winter Plan was insufficient, and announced too late, to stem the issues at UHL.

There is no urgency from the HSE to fill the vacancies at UHL and this impacts patient care. To date there has been no proper multi-annual capital plan for reaching necessary capacity at UHL and across the UL Group. The management at UHL are also culpable.

The hospital is in a state of perpetual crisis with the continual cancellation of elective procedure. There seems to be no urgency from that collective to press upon the Minister the ever-escalating scale of the crisis. In 2021 there were 12,106 people on trolleys, in 2022 there were over 18,000 people on trolleys. The numbers increase with no urgency to address the causes.

Do you think the current management team at University Hospital Limerick should be retained? If so, why? If not, why not?
No. Recent years have demonstrated that they are unable to get to grips with the twin challenges of capacity and staffing.
Patient safety is at risk, change is needed. In the last year I have been contacted by families who have advised of:
Elderly loved ones with dementia being able to walk out of the hospital- thankfully, to be found by the gardaí, without the hospital knowing they are missing.

We have been contacted by staff who have advised that there are shortages of basics such as blankets and pillows. These are rudimentary issues that the management should be able to handle.

In no more than 200 words, how do you believe the ongoing crisis at University Hospital Limerick can be solved?
There are both immediate and long-term strategies needed.
In the short term, we need to consider all available options including the use of private hospital and a ramp up of services at other local hospitals.

There must be a focus on the Emergency Department and there must be sufficient staff available to triage patients appropriately. It is not good enough to have patients waiting for hours and hours before being assessed. In the long term there needs to be a step change in how the hospital is managed.

The 96-bed unit needs to be expedited. This is an emergency situation that needs an emergency response.
Local Community Health Services must be resourced to ensure that potential hospital visits can be diverted to them.

The Pathfinder programme can be a useful resource to reduce patient presentations. Treating people, safely, in their community will reduce A&E wait times. Crucially, we need to replace retiring GPs. The shortage of GPs in the Mid-West is a contributory factor in the current crisis.

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