Hospital group disputes minister’s view
Call for politicians to stop ‘plámásing’ over trolley crisis
The Mid West Hospital Campaign has disputed the Minister for Health's view that the trolley situation at Limerick hospital is improving.
The group said comparative figures indicating a decrease in trolley numbers at UHL between 2019 and this year are not accurate. In a statement, it said Minister Donnelly had referred to a fall in trolley numbers when he visited the Mid West last June, as did Tánaiste Micheál Martin in response to a question by Clare TD Michael McNamara during Leaders Questions on July 13.
The Mid West Hospital Campaign said the July 2023 trolley figures, as counted by the INMO, Monday to Friday, for the month are 1,813. “This represents a total of 2,488 for the month, including Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays, which are not counted by INMO,” the campaign group's statement reads. “A weekly average is taken for these days.
“Using the INMO figure for 2019 for the same period, the number is 1,233 (Monday to Friday). This represents a difference of 473, which is 38% UP on 2019, and not down, as Stephen Donnelly and Micheál Martin claimed.”
The group said it has put a number of questions on the matter to Minister Donnelly following his visit to the region. It received a reply that “fails to answer most of the questions asked”.
‘DISTURBING TRENDS’
The Mid West Hospital Campaign found “a number of other disturbing trends in the July figures.
“There are seven Model 3 or 4 hospitals in the Eastern (Dublin and Kildare) region of the country. In July, on 12 separate dates that were counted, the numbers on trolleys in UHL alone exceeded those in the whole of the Eastern region. This included the whole five days of the week of July 24 and four in the previous week, and the last day of the month, July 31, where there were 64 in the whole of the Eastern region to 107 in UHL alone.
“This has happened on odd dates over the years but never before has it happened on consecutive dates and for such a long period.
“The people of Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary deserve better. They deserve a service, which is not only seen to be equitable with every other person in the State, but is.
“The continued silence from most of our politicians is deafening. The people of this region deserve better than press statements, sound bytes, and plámásing.
“This is about our lives. At least one person a day from this region is dying as a direct result of their stay in the Emergency Department of UHL. This is based on extensive, well-respected and verifiable research by Dr Chris Moulton and Dr Cliff Mann in the UK.
“The people of Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary deserve respect and to be treated with dignity. This is not happening and those with the power to change are doing nothing except meddling with the edges.
"What other region in the country is so badly serviced?
“One Emergency Department for Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary.
“A population of 400,000 with some areas doubling or even trebling that number at this time of the year. No other region in the country is struggling like this region."