Where are our beds Minister? – Marian Harkin asks Stephen Donnelly

As Health Minister Stephen Donnelly turned the sod on a new 96-bed unit at Limerick University Hospital, Marian Harkin TD was wondering when he’s coming northwest to turn the sod on a long promised 42-bed medical unit at Sligo University Hospital (SUH).

“This 42-bed unit got planning permission in 2019 but there is no sign of it happening,” Ms Harkin said, “perhaps the fact that the trolley issues at Limerick University Hospital are never far from the headlines has given the development of their new unit a greater urgency, but the situation at SUH is equally urgent.

“Numbers don’t lie and drilling down into the figures at both hospitals shows that the trolley situation in Sligo is every bit as alarming as the one in Limerick. Sligo University Hospital has around 359 beds and today it had 35 people waiting for beds or 9.75% of its capacity. Limerick has about 562 beds and had 58 patients waiting or 10% of its bed capacity. Yet all the attention, including that of the Minister, is given to Limerick. It appears work on the Sligo project will not begin until the latter part of 2023.

"The figures are straightforward - the capacity of a hospital to deal with the volume of patients coming through its doors largely depends on the number of beds it has.  The more beds you have the less trolleys you need. Sligo’s need for more beds is as urgent as that of Limerick.

“I wholeheartedly welcome the new development launched by Minister Donnelly in Limerick today and I fully accept it is badly needed. But I’m saying to Mr Donnelly, and to the decision makers in the HSE, don’t be blinded by the headlines, take a good look at the figures, they will tell you all you need to know, they will give you the hard facts."

Ms Harkin said that a comparison between the numbers waiting for admission at SUH with the number of beds available graphically illustrates the urgent need for more beds. “We have been promised 42. A building start date of late 2023 means a wait of at least another two years. We need them now, Minister. We have plenty of sod waiting to be turned and no shortage of shovels,” Ms Harkin said.