Elective hospital for Limerick
Willie O’Dea raised repeated complaints from constituents about University Hospital Limerick and asked whether there had been discussion of an elective-only hospital for the mid-west. The Taoiseach said the HSE team at Limerick had had some impact and that the Government supports the concept, but implementation remains constrained by the wider health system.
Up to a few minutes ago, I had four complaints today already – now the number is up to five – about people interacting with University Hospital Limerick. The Taoiseach indicated in previous replies to me that he had some sympathy with the notion of an elective-only hospital for the mid-west along with the hospitals in Galway, Cork and Dublin. The cause of the problem is the shortage of beds. The number in University Hospital Limerick is insufficient to meet the needs of the population. I want to find out whether there has been any discussion on this and when there will be a decision on it. Could the Taoiseach contact the Minister for Health and revert to me in writing? The crisis at University Hospital Limerick continues unabated and is causing a great deal of suffering and misery in the area. It is also generating a huge amount of anger.
Comment on this
Yes. As I said earlier today, the HSE did send a team to Limerick. It has had some impact. It illustrates the importance of governance, management, patient flow and all of that. This issue has been featuring for quite some time. The Government has accelerated what was being planned for Galway and Cork, in particular, in terms of elective units. In the past six months, in particular, Deputy O'Dea and others have brought forward the idea of an elective hospital for Limerick. I support this but what concerns me is the degree to which we can get it through the health system more generally and more quickly. However, I believe the elective hospital route is the way to go. It takes pressure off the main hospital and gets waiting lists dealt with more expeditiously and efficiently for patients. I will talk to the Minister for Health about how we can fast-track that and have a proposal made on it.