THE MAJOR representative body for healthcare patients in the Mid West said it has left the Minster for health in no doubt that people want both improved and expanded services and a new acute hospital for the region, as recommended in a HIQA report.
Following a meeting with Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, HSE Mid West Regional Patient and Service User Council said in a statement that it is “satisfied that the Minister and her team clearly understood the Council’s position and our unwavering desire towards the only acceptable outcome from the recent HIQA review on urgent and emergency care”.
The Council outlined that it fully believes that progressing options A and B together from the HIQA recommendations – expanding capacity and support services in both on and off-site at University Hospital Limerick – “offers the fastest and safest route to addressing chronic overcrowding”.
Option C was the development of a new hospital for the region, with an accompanying emergency department.
“Our priority and that of the elected representatives must be to ensure that the ‘significant risk to patient safety’ identified by HIQA is mitigated as soon as possible and Options A and B together is the only solution to improve access and deliver high quality acute hospital care, prioritising patient safety for the people of the Mid West region,” the statement said.
“Identifying a greenfield site for option B allows for consideration to a multiphase programme which may develop Option C in the future.”
The Council said it would “fully endorse the cross-party letter from Mid West elected representatives to Minister Carroll MacNeill to identify this site with a costed delivery plan by April 2026”.
“The options represent the only viable approach in progressing a sustainable, future proofed acute hospital delivery model for almost half a million patients in the region.”
In the hard hitting statement, the Council members said they “strongly believe the people of the Mid West are entitled to expect a service that is fit for purpose and can respond with a safe service level, progressing these options is the only way to achieve this outcome”.
“The Council strongly urges the Minister to act decisively and without delay in adopting options A and B in the best interests of the population of the Mid West. Only then will the people of the region be assured that delivery of essential acute healthcare services is commencing, alongside equitable access comparable to that provided nationwide.”