ALMOST half the staff needed for the opening of the new 96-bed block at University Hospital Limerick in just a few weeks time are already on board.
And a spokesman for the hospital said that recruitment is continuing to fill the remaining 206 post.
In response to a query about current recruitment for the block – due to open in September – the Limerick Post learned that the full complement of staff for the 96-bed block at UHL is 394 whole time equivalents (WTE).
This includes provision for 140.9 WTE nursing and midwifery posts and 45 WTE medical and dental, with the remainder encompassing general support, health and social care professionals, patient and client care, and management and admin.
“Of the full staff complement, 188.4 WTE have been onboarded, including 99.7 WTE nursing and midwifery, and four WTE medical and dental. Recruitment is ongoing to fill the remaining posts,” the spokesman told this newspaper.
A new 96-bed ward block is being constructed as part of efforts to address overcrowding and increase bed capacity. This new block is a four-story extension built above the emergency and renal department extension.
The new €90million build will provide 96 single en suite rooms, with 24 at each level. The project is designed with architectural and service interfaces with the existing hospital.
But while the new single-bed rooms meet the superior level of infection control required, it has been pointed out that the block will not provide 96 additional beds.
The hospital will only gain 48 additional beds when the unit opens on the hospital’s grounds in Dooradoyle.
The hospital has previously confirmed that only half of the beds will be new stock, and the remaining 48 will replace beds at the hospital’s old, multi-bed Nightingale wards.
“This important project is the next step in addressing the acknowledged deficits in inpatient bed capacity in the UL Hospitals Group and the Mid West,” the spokesman added.
“Approximately half of the beds will be new beds for inpatients while the remainder will be replacement beds allowing us to close or refurbish some of the more outdated inpatient accommodation on the site. This will allow for greater compliance with national guidelines and international best practice on infection prevention and control.”
The opening comes at a critical time, as the hospital faces into the winter infection season and following a period where UHL clocked up 200 days as the country’s most overcrowded hospital.
