Just half of University Hospital Limerick's promised extra beds will be new
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The overcrowded University Hospital Limerick (UHL) is to benefit from only 48 additional beds when a proposed 96-bed unit is built on the hospital’s grounds, the hospital has confirmed.
Construction of the new €90m hospital unit is due to begin in early October and be completed in September 2024.
When asked for clarity around whether or not all 96 beds would be additional bed capacity, the hospital replied that only half of the beds, 48, will be new stock. The remaining 48 beds will replace existing bed capacity at the hospital’s old nightingale wards.
"This important project is the next step in addressing the acknowledged deficits in inpatient bed capacity in the UL Hospitals Group and the Mid West," said UHL in a statement.
However, the hospital’s response confirmed that “approximately half of the beds will be new beds for inpatients while the remainder will be replacement beds allowing us to close or refurbish some of the more outdated inpatient accommodation on the site, and this will allow for greater compliance with national guidelines and international best practice on infection prevention and control”.
In the statement, Colette Cowan, chief executive, University of Limerick Hospitals Group, said that throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, it was supported by the Government and the HSE “in opening 98 inpatient beds and 10 new critical care beds at UHL, which has dramatically improved our ability to isolate patients and to protect many of the most vulnerable”.
However, Prof Cowan said that “in spite of this progress, inpatient bed capacity at UHL and the Mid-West region is not sufficient to meet increasing demand on our services”.
On April 21, a record 126 patients languished on trolleys while waiting for beds at UHL. On Tuesday, 36 patients were waiting on trolleys in corridors in the Limerick hospital’s Emergency Department and on wards.
The most overcrowded hospital on Tuesday was University Hospital Galway (59 on trolleys), followed by Cork University Hospital (51) and St Vincent’s Hospital, Dublin (43).
“The National Health Service Capacity Review is clear on the challenge we face as a country in providing additional inpatient accommodation as our population grows and rapidly ages, [so] it is important that we move ahead with this project now,” said Prof Cowan.
“The appointment of an experienced contractor to develop a 96-bed block at UHL is great news for patients and staff. As well as improving the patient experience, completion of this project will help us to attract and retain staff, reduce the number of outbreaks and their associated costs, and reduce the number of bed days lost as well as average length of stay.”