Health « Thurles Information

Zero New Acute Beds For Mid-West Hospitals In 2023.

UL Hospitals Group only hospital group in country not to receive new beds.

No new acute beds will be opened in the Mid-West Region in 2023, according to figures released to Independent Clare TD, Mr Michael McNamara.

In response to Deputy McNamara’s Parliamentary Question, the HSE’s Acute Operations department says none of the six hospitals in the UL Hospitals Group will receive any of the 209 acute beds scheduled to be opened this year, subject to staffing and completion of some capital works.

“One year on from the news that no new acute beds would be opened within the UL Hospitals Group in 2022, we learn that the Mid West is once again missing from the list of regions to benefit from such investment in 2023,” stated Deputy McNamara.

He continued, “This follows on from the revelation that just 7 full-time positions were created at UHL, the most overcrowded hospital in the State for the past 7 years, and only 61 fulltime positions were filled in the UL Hospitals Group in 2022, the smallest increase in any region of the State, it’s clear that the chronic underinvestment in acute services in the Mid-West will continue through 2023. The fact that the UL Hospitals Group is the only group in the country not to benefit from new acute beds, is an affront to the people of North Tipperary, Clare and Limerick.”

The 209 new acute beds targeted to open in 2023 will be located in Mallow General Hospital (20) and South Tipperary General Hospital (28) (South/South West Hospital Group); Portiuncula University Hospital (12) and Letterkenny University Hospital (3) (Saolta University Health Care Group); Monaghan/Cavan General Hospital (2) (RCSI Hospitals Group); Mater University Hospital (96) and National Rehabilitation Hospital (6) (Ireland East Hospital Group); St James Hospital (12), Midlands Regional Hospital Tullamore (8) and Naas General Hospital (12) (Dublin Midlands Hospital Group); and Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital Crumlin (10) (Children’s Health Ireland).

Deputy McNamara admitted that while the provision of additional bed capacity on its own will not resolve the overcrowding problems at University Hospital Limerick (UHL), the delivery of new acute, beds “should certainly be part of the solution.”

Meanwhile, Deputy McNamara said that he has requested Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to include Ennis Hospital on his itinerary during his visit to the region tomorrow (Friday) when he is scheduled to visit UHL and meet, separately, with representatives of the Mid-West Hospital Campaign.

“It is necessary that the Taoiseach visits our Model 2 Hospitals to get a better understanding of their underutilisation and their capacity to contribute to reducing overcrowding at UHL. The people of the Mid-west cannot afford another year of negligible investment in healthcare services in this region, which will result in a repeat of dangerous levels of overcrowding next winter.

“Increasing bed capacity and expanding services at our Model 2 hospitals, while not a panacea, must be part of the solution as failure to do so will lead to a continuation of crippling overcrowding at Dooradoyle and even longer waiting lists”, concluded Deputy McNamara.

HSE Figures Highlight Chronic Underinvestment In Mid West.

Only 7 WTE (Fulltime /Whole-time Equivalent) healthcare professional positions in Acute Services were created at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) during 2022, despite UHL being the most overcrowded hospital in the country last year.

Figures released by the HSE in response to a Parliamentary Question by Independent Clare TD Mr Michael McNamara show that 61 or 2.3% of the 2,645 WTE acute services positions, created last year in Irish hospitals, were located in hospitals within the UL Hospital Group.
This compared with the creation of 579 WTE positions in Saolta University Hospital Care (21.9% of the national figure), 547 in the South/South West Hospital Group (20.7%), 498 in the RCSI Hospitals Group (18.8%), 459 in the Ireland East Hospital Group (17.4%), 418 in the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group (15.8%) and 77 in Children’s Health Ireland (2.9%).

The figures also show that University Maternity Hospital Limerick was one of only five hospitals across the country, to experience a reduction in staff numbers in Acute Services, with 265 WTE health professionals employed at the facility in December 2022, compared to 274 in December 2021.
The other hospitals experiencing a reduction in overall staff numbers were Coombe Women & Infants University (-20), St. Michael’s Dublin (-10), CHI at Temple Street (-6) and CHI at Connolly (-1).

The report is broken down by hospital and staff categories, namely Medical & Dental, Nursing & Midwifery and Health & Social Care professionals, including physiologists. The HSE states that an additional 666 and 38 W.T.E positions were created in Community Services and Health & Wellbeing services respectively during 2022.

Deputy McNamara, who will be raising the matter with Taoiseach Mr Leo Varadkar, during Leader’s Questions tomorrow (Tuesday), said the figures are contrary to repeated claims by Health Minister Mr Stephen Donnelly about investments in resources within the UL Hospital Group.

“UHL has been the most overcrowded hospital in the country for the past seven years, with a record 18,028 patients waiting on trolleys and on wards in 2022,” stated Deputy McNamara.

Deputy McNamara continued, “This time last year, we discovered that none of the six hospitals in the UL Hospitals Group would receive any of the 411 acute and 36 ICU beds scheduled to open across Ireland in 2022. Now we discover that the increase in the healthcare workforce in Acute Services in the Mid-West falls far behind the increases seen in other regions across the country. The picture painted by these figures suggests a chronic underinvestment in hospitals across this region and therefore, there should be no surprise as to why waiting lists and trolley numbers here remain consistently higher than other parts of the country.”

Deputy McNamara added, “Minister Donnelly told me in the Dáil last week that 2023 will be the fourth year of record recruitment into the HSE, since the foundation of the HSE, which will ring hollow for the people of North Tipperary, Clare, and Limerick, who will look at these figures and see that the UL Hospital Group has benefited little. The Minister also told me in the Dáil last week that 1,000 extra staff now work in UHL compared with three years ago. I have submitted a Parliamentary Question to Minister Donnelly in respect of a breakdown of these positions and I await his response.”

Customers Of TK Maxx Or Homesense Requested To Return Faulty Electrical Product.

According to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC Ireland’s consumer watchdog) a recall alert is in place for an Aroma Home Plug-In Salt Lamp Night Light purchased from TK Maxx or Homesense stores.

It is estimated that some 216 dangerous products were sold at TK Maxx and Homesense, here in the Republic of Ireland, between December 2022 and January 2023.

The affected batch numbers listed refer to 700540, 700545, 700549 and 700552.

The danger with the night light plugs has arisen because moisture from the salt lamp can drip onto metal plug components, which in turn can lead to fire or possible electrocution.

Customers are requested to stop using the product, with immediate effect, and return the dodgy manufactured product to any TK Maxx or Homesense store, to obtain a full refund.

Further queries in relation to this recall, should be directed by email to TK Maxx at customerservice@tjxeurope.com or Tel: 01-2476126.

Allergy Alert Notification

Incorrectly Declared Allergens In Harvest Morn Protein Bars.

According to an Allergy Alert Notification, published by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, (FSAI), dated Friday January 27th last; Gluten, Peanuts, Soybeans and Milk have been incorrectly declared in Harvest Morn Protein Bars.

The FSAI warn that in all batches and best before dates of Harvest Morn Protein Bars, allergens may not be emphasised on the label. This may make the products unsafe for consumers who are allergic to or intolerant of cereals containing gluten (barley), peanuts, soybeans, and milk.
The implicated bars were sold in Aldi stores.

See details of all the recalled product ranges shown above or View HERE.

Recall Of Batches Of Raw Chicken Products

Irish Food Safety Authority recall batches of various raw chicken products; country of origin Ireland, due to the presence of Salmonella Typhimurium.

To view exact batch Code: Please see tables published hereunder.

Western Brand is recalling expired batches of raw chicken products, listed hereunder, due to the detection of Salmonella Typhimurium. These products were sold as fresh and are past their use-by date, however, the labels state they are suitable for home freezing. Recall notices at retail stores will be displayed at point-of-sale.

Nature Of Danger:

People infected with Salmonella typically develop symptoms between 12 and 36 hours after infection, but this can range between 6 and 72 hours. The most common symptom is diarrhoea, which can sometimes be bloody. Other symptoms may include fever, headache and abdominal cramps. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days. Diarrhoea can occasionally be severe enough to require hospital admission. The elderly, infants, and those with impaired immune systems are more likely to have a severe illness.

Consumers are advised not to eat the affected batches, should they have consigned them to their freezers.