Government should be “open” to the idea of a second emergency department in the Mid-West, the Taoiseach has said.
Simon Harris’s comments come amid persistent criticism of University Hospital Limerick (UHL) management by Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and HSE chief executive Bernard Gloster.
Scheduled care was cancelled at five hospitals and injury units in the Mid-West for an indefinite period in a bid to address patient flow issues at UHL.
Mr Donnelly has called for a range of reforms around management and clinical leadership at the hospital.
Mr Harris said on Sunday that a report into serious issues at the hospital was due to be brought to the minister “very shortly”.
He said Government would follow the recommendations of that report “without fear of favour”.
Mr Harris: “I think when it comes to the Mid-West, we should have an openness to a second emergency department, if that is the outcome of the HIQA (Health Information and Quality Authority) review.
“There is absolutely a need for more bed capacity in the Mid-West. I recognise that, the minister recognises that.
“We have increased bed capacity significantly – but it’s also true to say that there are serious issues, I believe, in relation to how the health services in the Mid-West are being managed.”
The Taoiseach added: “I think it is fair to say, by any objective standards, there are serious issues (at UHL) that go beyond the conversation just around investment.”
Speaking to reporters at the Tullow Agricultural Show, Mr Harris said the Health Minister was right to “look at how hospitals are being run and managed”.
He said there was a need to have a “balanced conversation” between the issues of investment and reform.
Asked if he agreed with the minister that there was a lack of a culture of productivity in public hospitals, Mr Harris said: “Words like productivity and the likes – we can sometimes forget what we’re talking about here.
“What we’re talking about here is the people of Ireland wanting to know when they get sick that they can access a health service that will look after them well.”
The Taoiseach said that issues at some hospitals could not be solved by investment alone.
Recalling his own time holding the health portfolio, Mr Harris said: “If it was a question of just investment, then many of the challenges that patients face would’ve been met.”
In an interview with the Business Post on Sunday, Mr Donnelly suggested that there should be productivity incentives in the public healthcare system.
Asked if there needed to be a reconsideration of incentives in public hospitals, Mr Harris said: “I certainly think that is something that we should keep under consideration.”
He added: “Look, I’m really conscious that people who work in healthwork work bloody hard.
“Nurses, doctors, allied healthcare professionals – I’m very proud of the work they do.
“But I’m also conscious that sometimes they can get frustrated about the environment in which they work, they can feel that they’re bogged down in bureaucracy, they can feel that things are too layered and really what we need to do is make sure we’re empowering clinicians to do their jobs – and I think we should listen to them more about the efficiencies that can be made in their own hospitals.”
