HSE seeks private hospital capacity to address Limerick overcrowding crisis

The Health Service Executive is in advanced discussions to rent floor space at the privately operated Bon Secours Limerick Hospital to accommodate public patients from University Hospital Limerick, which remains Ireland's most overcrowded acute facility. The proposed arrangement aims to ease dangerous overcrowding conditions that have persisted despite significant recent capital investment in public infrastructure.

According to breakingnews.ie, HSE Mid West confirmed that discussions are underway to transfer appropriate patients to Bon Secours Limerick during periods of peak demand, with an agreement expected to be finalised in the coming weeks.

University Hospital Limerick has been the subject of multiple internal HSE reviews following patient deaths that occurred during severe overcrowding episodes. The facility consistently records the highest trolley numbers nationally, with 127 patients waiting for beds at 8am on Wednesday, representing 17 per cent of the national total of 734, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.

The €213 million (approximately) Bon Secours Limerick facility opened at Ballysimon in September, offering modern infrastructure in stark contrast to conditions at the adjacent public hospital. Overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick has continued despite the addition of a €105 million 96-bed unit last October.

Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill announced in December that the government would implement three options recommended by health watchdog HIQA to address the crisis. These include expanding capacity at the existing Dooradoyle site, extending the campus to a second location under shared governance, and developing a new Model 3 hospital with an emergency department in the mid-west region.

Emergency departments in Ennis, St Johns Limerick, and Nenagh were reconfigured to University Hospital Limerick in 2009 as part of a plan to establish a centre of excellence.

View the complete report for further details on the capacity-sharing negotiations.