The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has said it recommended the development of a comprehensive strategic plan to address the safety concerns which prompted its review of urgent and emergency healthcare services in the HSE Mid West region, while having regard to future demographic and policy considerations there.
In September, HIQA published a report proposing three options to Government to deal with pressures in the region, after being asked by the Minister for Health to conduct the review.
Option A was to increase beds at the existing hospital, Option B was to create a two campus at University Hospital Limerick, while Option C was to develop a smaller second hospital in the region with a second emergency department.
HIQA told today's Oireachtas Committee on Health that a key priority was patient safety.
Angela Fitzgerald, HIQA Chief Executive, said the current situation caused by the demand-capacity gap at UHL and across the HSE Mid West "presents a risk to patient safety".
The authority said its advice outlines the benefits and potential implementation challenges for each of the three options.
HIQA said that options A or B will likely yield the required inpatient bed capacity to address the immediate risks to patient safety within a shorter time frame.
It added that Option C offers the potential to meet the longer-term bed requirements but likely has the longest lead time, which means it cannot address the immediate and urgent capacity deficits.
It told the committee that in the event that Option C is considered the preferred option, it will still be necessary to meet the current capacity deficits through options A or B.
HIQA said this is an important consideration in terms of the overall capital programme.
Social Democrats TD Pádraig Rice, who is chairperson of the committee, said that the reconfiguration of services in the mid-west region had been a failure.
He said the recommended number of extra beds, over 600, had not been put in place.
Deputy Rice said there were 96 patients waiting on trolleys at University Hospital Limerick yesterday, the highest in the country.
Sinn Féin TD Maurice Quinlivan said some patients would have decided not to attend the emergency department at UHL given conditions there.
He said that yesterday there were 96 patients waiting on trolleys in the hospital.
HIQA Director of Healthcare Regulation Sean Egan said that Option C would be a long-term option and take many years to develop and plan.
He said this would involve identifying a site, planning and design and building up staff.
HIQA told the committee that the public and stakeholder consultation process for its report was the widest it ever conducted.
This involved 1,121 submissions via an online survey and 17 in-person meetings.
Fianna Fáil TD Martin Daly said that people who questioned the closure of emergency departments in the region and the likely impact were ridiculed by experts at the time.
