The Joint Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen will meet today with the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly to discuss a Public Petition calling for the ‘Reopening of Emergency Departments in Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s Limerick.’ The petition was submitted by the Midwest Hospital Campaign Group.
The meeting at 1.30pm in Leinster House will also will hear from representatives from the Health Service Executive (HSE).
Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy Martin Browne says “The petitioners believe the loss of the EDs at Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s has significantly increased pressure on the ED at UHL which is overcrowded on a daily basis. The campaign group is seeking the reopening of the closed EDs and the development of Level 3 trauma facilities as a part of an expansion of emergency hospital services in the Midwest.
There are 111 admitted patients on trolleys at UHL today out of a national total of 512 admitted patients on trolleys. The INMO reports that there have been over 500 people admitted across the country without a bed each day this week – the union says this level of overcrowding is not normal for the month of May. The INMO is calling for “all vacant nursing and midwifery posts to be filled immediately by lifting the recruitment moratorium.”
