HIQA report into healthcare in Mid-West shows 'lives are at risk' says one local councillor

Independent Councillor John O'Heney insists that lives are "at risk" and that the Irish Government must act swiftly and "deliver real solutions" for both staff and patients in the HSE Mid-West region.

Cllr O'Heney's comments come off the back of a new Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) report into emergency healthcare in the Mid-West.

The report, which arrived off the back of 18 months of research, concluded that urgent intervention is needed. UHL is currently operating at the lowest ratio of hospital beds to emergency cases in Ireland. 

Furthermore, it is estimated that an extra 593 beds will be needed to cope with demand by 2040.

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The HIQA report outlined three long-term solutions which could relieve some of the stress on resources in the Mid-West:

- An expansion University Hospital Limerick (UHL) at Dooradoyle

- The development of a second nearby campus

- The building a new Model 3 hospital with a second emergency department

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While 128 new beds are planned by the end of this year, HIQA warns this will still leave a major shortfall.

Cllr O'Heney welcomed the HIQA report, saying that it confirms the “serious and dangerous” shortage of hospital beds in the region.

"This report proves what staff and patients have been saying for years. The Mid West is under-resourced, and lives are at risk. The Government must now choose a solution and deliver it without delay," he said.

"Local people, who made over 1,100 submissions to the review, deserve decisive action, not more delays and promises."

However, Alan Kelly, a Labour TD for North Tipperary and Northwest Kilkenny, denounced the report as "borderline insulting".

He criticised the amount of time it took for the Mid-West assessment to be published:

"I mean I don’t believe in fairness to HIQA that they should have been asked to do this. But why it took 18 months or so for this to be done is beyond me. The obvious decision has to be made – we need a new Model 3 hospital in the Mid West. It has to have A&E capacity and ICU capacity – we can’t keep putting everyone through Limerick. It is insane – 147 people on trolleys in one day alone this week," he said.

Ryan O’Meara, Fianna Fáil TD for North Tipperary and Northwest Kilkenny, welcomed the publication after a meeting with HIQA and Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill.

Deputy O’Meara also argued that option C; the development of a Model 3 hospital is the best of the three proposed long-term solutions to deal with the overcrowding at UHL.

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