Staff shortages remain huge issue at UHL

The leader of Sinn Féin has raised the death of Aoife Johnston at Limerick University Hospital in December 2022.

Speaking in the Dáil, Mary Lou McDonald said staff shortages remain a huge issue at the hospital where doctors have previously said the emergency department was an unsafe environment.

The hospital is in a constant state of emergency because it does not have the staff or beds to deal with demand, Ms McDonald said.

“The hospital is short 200 vital staff…but the staff cannot be recruited because of your recruitment embargo,” she told the Dáil.

She called for the “dangerous” recruitment embargo to be lifted and the number of beds in the hospital urgently increased.

Taoiseach Simon Harris said he cannot imagine the pain Aoife Johnston’s family are enduring.

He said the outcome of an investigation into her death, led by Justice Frank Clarke, is due to be completed by the end of May.

Mr Harris said staffing had increased by 42% since 2019 and UHL now has more emergency department consultants than any other hospital.

There was also a 44% increase in the hospital’s funding over the last five years, he said.

Notwithstanding the recruitment embargo, he said that 2,200 extra staff can be employed in the health service this year and he wants safe staffing levels in Limerick.

Cairns criticises lack of in-patient beds for people with eating disorders

Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns has branded the Government’s record as an “abject failure” when it comes to delivering in-patient beds for people with eating disorders.

Speaking during Leader’s Questions, she told the Dáil that 20 new inpatient beds were promised to be delivered by 2023, when Taoiseach Simon Harris was Minister for Health, but the number which have been delivered to date is “zero.”

Ms Cairns said people should be shocked at the lack of urgency, the level of mismanagement and the complete lack of help and hope for those who are seriously ill.

She said there are only 3 public beds for adults in the entire country, and all of them are located in St Vincent’s Hospital in south Dublin which means they are not available to most people in the country.

The Cork South West TD contended that the Government does not know how serious the issue is, as she has met women forced to set-up accounts on online fundraising platforms while parents watch-on in disbelief as their children “waste away”.

In reply, Mr Harris said he wanted to assure the House that the Government is committed to enhancing this service and shortening the waiting lists.

He said there is a need to increase the number of adult beds from 3 to 20 as quickly as possible, and this will be reflected in Budget 2025.

Mr Harris also said that the new model for care published in 2018 does mark a significant milestone in providing clarity about how to deliver services.

He added 90% of services are delivered within the community, rather than inpatient beds in hospitals, and this was the most effective way of delivering treatment.