Wi-Fi for patients at Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise may be 'challenging' to install
Laois hospital still has no phone wi-fi service for patients
Patients still have no access to Wi-Fi at Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise, but that is planned to change.
The Model 3 Portlaoise hospital has 135 inpatient beds as well as a busy Emergency Department, offering Paediatrics, Maternity, Surgical and many outpatient services, to patients from Laois, Kildare, Carlow, Offaly and North Tipperary.
While upgraded in recent years, it still has no Wi-Fi network for the public or visitors to access.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) has now confirmed plans to install Wi-Fi.
Chief Information Officer of eHealth at the HSE is Fran Thompson.
"There is a wireless network in Portlaoise Hospital. However there is no patient Wi-Fi service as part of this network. The wireless networks serves the staff and medical devices.
"This hospital is part of the new wireless programme in the HSE where it will get a new and modern wireless network that will also provide patient and visitor wireless services via the central Government Guest Internet Access service.
"Portlaoise is in the second tranche of sites and as such, work will not commence in Portlaoise until the second half of this year," he said.
However he said it will take time.
"Each site requires detailed wireless network surveying and additional network cabling. In hospital settings this can take time and be challenging to deal with from an operation perspective," the officer said.
It is the reply to a motion tabled in January 2024 by Portlaoise Municipal District Fianna Fáil Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald, asking for it to be installed. She had slammed the lack of service as "absolutely crazy".
Cllr Fitzgerald gave her reaction.
"It is incredible in this day and age that they haven't got Wi-Fi for patients. Parents of children in paediatrics find it impossible to make a call. At least there is some positive correspondence," she said.
The reply was read out at the March meeting of Portlaoise MD, by Director of Services Simon Walton.