This article is from page 17 of the 2012-01-24 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 17 JPG
CLARE County Council has invited the HSE and HIQA to come before the members in chamber to answer numerous questions relating to the health and safety of the area’s hospitals.
At this month’s adjourned meeting of the council, two independent councillors – Cllr Patricia McCarthy and Cllr James Breen – raised concerns about the number of bugs, infections and viruses in the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick, and the affect of these outbreaks on the public.
At this month’s meeting of the council, Cllr McCarthy queried how many times visitors were denied access to the Mid West Regional Hospital Limerick due to the presence of an infection especially during 2010 and 2011.
The Shannon councillor also wanted to know how these figures compared to hospitals in other regions.
Cllr Breen, a prominent health advocate for years, called on the two health bodies – the HSE and HIQA – to publish the hygiene audits that were carried out on all hospitals and nursing homes in the mid-west, and to publish the number of people affected by hospital superbugs in 2011.
The Kilnamona councillor, who was victim to a superbug in the past, was also critical of his own recent experience within the public hospital service.
He raised concerns about hygiene and safety at the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick and other hospitals in the mid-west region.
He described how during one night he spent at the Limerick hospital he was forced to clean the toilet himself it was so dirty. He was equally revolted by the state of the shower, he said.
“While I was there, I had to go from unit three to unit four and it was like an obstacle course,” he said.
The concerned councillor described how he had to find his way around food carts, beds and wheelchairs left on the corridors.
He raised concerns as to the difficulties such obstacles would pose in the case of an emergency at the hospital.
All members of the council agreed to write to the HSE and HIQA to invite them to address them on such issues.