HIQA SAYS UHL IS NOT SAFE

THE MINISTER MUST ACT NOW TO SAVE US FROM 10 MORE YEARS OF OVERCROWDING & UNSAFE CONDITIONS

The HIQA Review tells us he current situation caused by the demand-capacity gap at UHL and across HSE Mid West, presents a risk to patient safety

The key problem is that there are not enough inpatient beds in the Mid West to meet current demand for those patients requiring admission through the ED who present with more serious or complex care needs, or those with an undifferentiated healthcare condition

HIQA’s advice highlighted an immediate need for action and investment to address current risks to patient safety in the shortest timeframe and safest way possible.

HIQA has presented the Minister for Health with three options for how this might be achieved.

We call on the Minister to make a decision on how capacity can be fast tracked in the Midwest

Option A alone WILL NOT SOLVE the crisis

The Minister must look at Option B and C as well

We do not have time for more "Consultations" a decision needs to be made imminently as UHL is operating in continuous "Crisis Mode"

It is inevitable that patients will die on trolleys in UHL this winter

That is unavoidable and it is not the fault of the staff who work incredibly hard

It is because they do not have the beds they need to serve the population demands

Unfortunately with an older population health can deteriorate rapidly and efforts of staff to have beds for patients needing end of life care will inevitably fail with the numbers of patients expected this winter

There is no privacy or dignity on a trolley 

It is too late for WInter 25/26 but it is not too late for the minister to act for Winter 26/27

The time to act is NOW