The UL Hospitals Group insists that its new strategic five-year plan to build on the promise of Sláintecare will be implemented and won’t be a waste of taxpayer’s money.
The organisation is set to be disbanded in early 2024 and reformed under a new entity called ‘HSE MidWest.’
As part of Sláintecare , from early 2024, all public acute and community health services within ULHG will be integrated under a new entity ‘HSE MidWest’, and operations will be overseen by a newly appointed ‘Regional Executive Officer’.
The CEO of the UL Hospitals Group insists though that the plan will be implemented and that new manangement will not be hamstrung by the blueprint.
In order to do this, the group has identified four key priorities including improving patient flow and integrated care and enhancing the Academic Health Science System.
Professor Collette Cowan says the new plan is all about streamlining resources and will be easily applied.
So far this year almost 80,000 patients have attended the Emergency Department at University Hospital Limerick, which is 7% above the activity at any other facility.
Additionally the 533 inpatient beds at Dooradoyle is 14% below the capacity of any other Model 4 Hospital in the country, while today alone UHL remains by far the busiest hospital nationwide with 98 patients on trolleys.
Based on metrics discerned from medical experts when analysing the NHS in 2019, the MidWest Hospital Campaign Group has claimed that 514 patients have lost their lives due to patient delays at Dooradoyle’s ED since last June.
Collette Cowan has commended the MidWest Hospital Campaign for its amazing work to lobby for healthcare in the region and increase investment in staffing, however she maintains the claim is misleading.
Professor Cowan says UHLG is well aware of poor outcomes at the emergency department and insists that a number of alternative pathways launched this year are making a difference.
You can listen to the full interview below.
