Government comes under fire as the opening of the new Limerick surgical hub is delayed

THE GOVERNMENT has been criticised for not giving University Hospital Limerick the budget to make the new surgical hub on O’Connell Avenue in the city effective.

Sinn Féin TD, Maurice Quinlivan said that the Government is lacking urgency in addressing the healthcare crisis in the Mid-West.

Addressing the Taoiseach in the Dáil, Deputy Quinlivan argued that the Government must intervene to ensure that the UHL group gets 100% of the budget needed to make the new surgical hub effective.

“University Hospital Limerick is not receiving the support that it needs.

“Compare UHL with UHW in Waterford. Despite UHL having double the number of presentations at its emergency department, University Hospital Waterford has more consultants than UHL. This is a clear demonstration of the years of underfunding for the Mid-West.

“Compounding this neglect of the Mid-West is confirmation, by the HSE, that the opening of the Limerick Surgical Hub, which was planned to open in May, is now not expected until end of year.

“However, what is much more concerning is that HSE are only allocating funding of 50% of what is necessary to operate the hub.

“Limerick Surgical Hub was to have 20,000 procedures per year, has been delayed and now not only has it been delayed but the hub will only receive 50% of the budget it requires to complete 20,000 procedures.

“It will struggle to achieve 10,000 procedures.”

In the Dáil, Deputy Quinlivan stated: “For too many years now Limerick and the Mid-West has been left behind.

“The crisis that is our citizens being treated on hospital trolleys is not new, it has been a recurring theme for years. The surgical hub, if resourced, will be a small part in fixing the crisis in the ED in UHL, it must be funded.”

He said that the rest of the funding needs to be ringfenced by the Government: “Failure to do this is not acceptable.”

Located at the site of the former Scoil Carmel on O’Connell Avenue, construction has progressed quickly.

It was viewed at the time it was announced as being an avenue to relieve pressure on UHL, as well as freeing up theatre space on the main Dooradoyle hospital campus.

The complex will have four operating theatres, two procedure rooms, and it will also have consultation and assessment rooms, recovery bays, and functional support space.

Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said in the Dáil: “The Limerick surgical hub will treat large numbers of routine day case patients, freeing up hospital capacity for more complex procedures and helping people get surgery sooner.”

She added that the surgical hub will increase surgical procedures in the Mid-West.

“Once fully operational, the hub will be expected to deliver additional annual activity of circa 8,000 day case procedures, 5,700 minor ops procedures, and approximately 18,500 outpatient department appointments,” the health minister said.

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