'Inhumane' and 'dangerous' conditions in UHL as consultant warns of dire situation
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A leading professor has warned of “inhumane” and dangerous conditions in the emergency department in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) because of serious overcrowding.
Consultant Physician and Geriatrician at UHL Professor Declan Lyons said that the hospital is a "national basket case" and that the environment in the emergency department is now extremely difficult to work in.
The hospital declared a "major internal incident" on Monday evening due to the situation.
Professor Lyons noted that patients on trolleys are being “crammed together” with barely room between one trolley and the next for staff to treat patients.
He told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that the problem dates back to 2009 when a “medical reconfiguration” was made which was “a very significant mistake”.
Under the reconfiguration direct emergency access at Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s hospital were withdrawn and patients were instead directed to UHL.
Only five per cent of patients accessing EDs require critical care beds, explained Prof Lyons, the vast majority of patients could be treated “very appropriately” in their local hospital.
The consultant geriatrician gave the example of an elderly man in Co Clare who had collapsed at home and was brought by ambulance to UHL, passing Ennis hospital en route.
The patient spent three days on a trolley in UHL before being sent back to Ennis hospital.
Prof Lyons said that the severe overcrowding being experienced in UHL at present was an extension of what had been seen over the last few years – which was “chronic and persistent overcrowding in the emergency department”.
His concern was that the overcrowding would make it difficult for clinical staff to identify the patients who were most in need of treatment.
The situation was very serious and was compromising patient safety, he said. When asked if conditions had led to the deaths of any patients, Prof Lyons explained that if there were 100 patients in the emergency department, there was a guarantee that five would be critically unwell, the challenge was to swiftly identify those five patients.
The pressure in such conditions could lead to mistakes, he warned.
Such conditions lend themselves to mistakes and “adverse clinical results.”
The hospital group has made the decision to cancel all outpatient appointments scheduled for today, January 3.
The hospital has imposed a restriction on visitors, in their efforts to manage the situation.
Exceptions for visitors include “parents visiting children, people assisting confused patients” or those who are “critically unwell”, with exceptions limited to “one person per patient”.