The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has welcomed the publication of the independent Investigation into University Hospital Limerick carried out by former Chief Justice, Mr. Frank Clarke. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation complied fully with Justice Clarke’s investigation and other system reviews that took place prior to his investigation.
Our thoughts are with Aoife Johnston’s parents, sisters, extended family and all who loved her following the tragic circumstances of her death.
The INMO has long been to the fore of calling out the systemic problems that exist in University Hospital Limerick. The INMO has been sounding the alarm on issues of patient safety due to unsafe staffing levels in UHL at local, regional, national and governmental levels as far back as 2016.
Our members have long expressed deep concerns and have felt frustrations arising from the failure of the entire system to respond effectively, or at all, when clinical concerns were raised. Justice Clarke’s report and the systems analysis review by medical and nursing experts commissioned by the HSE must be the catalyst for meaningful and lasting change in respect of overcrowding.
As we face into another winter of unknowns, overcrowding is beginning to ramp up in hospitals right across once again. The most effective way to minimise overcrowding is to adhere to the agreed de-escalation policy before the situation becomes unmanageable, this can only be done with sufficient, appropriate in-patient capacity and adequately staffed community services to which patients can be discharged.
It is clear that safe nurse to patient staffing ratios must be underpinned by legislation. The Minister for Health and CEO of the HSE must now make this a priority.
Clinical lessons from Justice Clarke’s report must be learned particularly ensuring that there is a sufficient number of both medical and nursing staff to provide safe care to a large volume of patients with complex care needs.
Overcrowding in University Hospital Limerick has been out of control for far too long. While we recognise the challenges in addressing the embedded problems at the hospital, the commencement of internal process improvements and a full recalibration is needed on the Dooradoyle campus in order to change the approach to persistent overcrowding.
It could not be clearer that the State’s in-patient bed capacity must be improved in tandem with safe levels of nurses and doctors to deliver care and treatment. The Government must now prioritise the delivery of additional bed capacity and begin recruiting nurses and midwives to ensure that patients will receive safe care. The Minister for Health and the Chief Executive of the Health Service Executive must outline what immediate steps are being taken in this regard and this must start with lifting the ban on recruitment and confirming that they will enact the Patient Safety (Licensing) Bill and give HIQA the jurisdiction to issue more than recommendations when safe nurse staffing is not in place.