Permission sought to develop new multimillion-euro theatre at Ennis Hospital
A PLANNING application has been submitted by the UL Hospitals Group for the development of a new multimillion-euro theatre complex at Ennis Hospital.
Details of the €9.95m development has been confirmed by the HSE in response to representations made by Independent Clare TD Michael McNamara about low theatre utilisation rates at Ennis Hospital compared to Nenagh Hospital.
The most recent available figures, provided by the HSE to Deputy McNamara, show that Nenagh Hospital’s elective theatre utilisation rate was 71% in April 2022 and 81% in May 2022 compared to 58% and 47% respectively at Ennis Hospital. The overall operation time recorded from January to May 2022 in Nenagh was 607 hours compared to just 237 hours in Ennis.
“Approved under the HSE’s Capital Programme the theatre upgrade will help address the shortfall, but it’s only one of a number of measures required to address the matter,” stated Deputy McNamara.
“The development of a theatre improvement programme is central to tackling low utilisation rates in Ennis, which is impacting waiting times for people seeking to undergo procedures,” he explained. “However, there is a range of other measures that can be undertaken to expand operations in Ennis which I have been assured are going to be adopted by the HSE following a Theatre Utilisation Review by Grant Thornton highlighting that scheduled care demand at UHL had a significant impact on utilisation in Ennis last year," he added.
The application has been lodged with Clare County Council and will be considered in the usual way with a decision expected before the end of this year.