‘Something has to be done about UHL,’ say Tipperary councillors

There is something “fundamentally wrong” at University Hospital Limerick, and something must be done.

That was the message from the February sitting of Tipperary County Council.

During a discussion on emergency services, Cllr Seamus Morris called on the council to demand the Limerick Fire Chief examine the safety issues at the hospital.

He said since Christmas, there have been over 100 people on trolleys everyday and that staff are working in unsafe conditions.

“As a council we have to do something.

“We have to ask the fire chief to literally do his job,” said Cllr Morris.

Cllr Morris said he would like to see UHL fined for breaches to health and safety.

Cllr John Carroll said he was very concerned about their situation, saying there was something “fundamentally wrong.”

“There are people dying, and I have no hesitation in saying that,” said Cllr Carroll.

Tipperary County Council Chief Executive Joe MacGrath said it would be “inappropriate” for one local authority to demand anything of another.

Cathaoirleach Cllr Ger Darcy said he shared his colleagues' concerns but that this was “not the way to go about it.”

Cllr Darcy suggested that they request a meeting with the hospital’s management instead of the HSE.

Cllr Annemarie Ryan suggested the councillors write to the fire chief together, independently from Tipperary County Council.

From Unsafe to Hazardous

This week Tipperary TD Michael Lowry said overcrowding at UHL had gone from “unsafe to hazardous”.

He told the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, in the Dail that the “anger and anxiety are palpable across Tipperary”.

“Overcrowding has escalated from unsafe to hazardous. It poses a serious threat to patient health and safety. Even basic infection control is posing challenges.

“Distraught family members are tending to ill loved ones and basic needs on corridors and in cubicles,” said Mr Lowry.

He told the Minister that he is getting a huge amount of complaints not only from patients and families, but staff at the hospital who say their working conditions are impacting their own health.

He said the problems in Limerick are having a “knock-on-effect” in Nenagh. “Day-care procedures in Nenagh are cancelled almost daily to provide beds to cater for the overflow of medical patients from UHL.

“There have been close to 400 cancellations since January.

“These are people that a Consultant has determined need intervention. They are understandably concerned that further delays in their treatment will put them in a position where they will require acute intervention.

“Their condition is manageable at the present time, and acute care is preventable, but it is important that they receive that necessary surgical intervention,” said Mr Lowry.