The State’s health service watchdog has raised serious concerns about patient safety at University Hospital Limerick.
In a new report this morning, HIQA said overcrowding at the hospital’s Emergency Department now poses a “significant risk” to the health and welfare of patients.
It said the “dignity, privacy and confidentiality” of patients was also being compromised by the hospital’s “grossly overcrowded” Emergency Department.
The report is based on an unannounced inspection carried ahead of St Patrick’s Weekend on March 15th.
It found nurse staffing levels were insufficient, which was impacting on the safe provision of care.
It noted that nursing levels had been a regular problem for weeks and ineffective patient flow and decreased bed capacity had “significantly contributed” to the problem.
General views of University Hospital Limerick. Image: PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo“The overcrowded and understaffed Emergency Department posed a significant risk to the provision of safe, quality, person-centred care and to the health and welfare of people receiving care in the department,” it said.
It also noted that: “The dignity, privacy and confidentiality of patients attending and receiving care in the emergency department was compromised.”
The HIQA inspectors also noted that the hospital had failed to enact measures to sufficiently manage the overcrowding and associated patient safety risks.
They were “not assured” that the hospital had adequate measures in place to address the ineffective patient flow, insufficient nurse staffing levels and prolonged waiting times.
This morning, there were 78 patients waiting in wards or on trolleys for a bed at University Hospital Limerick, according to the INMO – the highest figure in the country.
HIQA said it has sent its findings to the HSE and sought assurance the hospital will be effectively supported to address the overcrowding.
The hospital has submitted a compliance plan outlining the short, medium and long-term actions it plans to take to address the issues raised in the report.
HIQA will continue to monitor the situation in the coming weeks and months.
