TREATING frail kidney patients in the middle of the night at embattled University Hospital Limerick will cause “safety to suffer”, insiders fear. Overnight dialysis treatment was phased out in Irish hospitals almost a decade ago — but now UHL wants to bring it back. The hospital’s dialysis unit has seen an influx of patients travel from all over the Midwest for treatment, prompting bosses to plan for a return to overnight treatment.
But staff fear if anything goes wrong with the many elderly and frail patients, they won’t have the know-how to cope — forcing patients into the hospital’s crowded Emergency Department. An insider told The Irish Sun: “Patient safety and well-being will suffer greatly from this. Many of the patients dialysed at night in these slots will be elderly and frail.
“They will have to leave their homes at around 10pm and won’t return until around 6am after four hours of dialysis and travel time due to the catchment area of the unit. “We have serious concerns for patient safety, as if they require additional medical care, it will be suboptimal.” Sources say renal consultants already have “many patients” who need to begin dialysis but cannot due to lack of a capacity for them.
Insiders fear patients who take a turn after dialysis will be advised to go to A&E, where 239 people have died on trolleys between 2019 and 2023. Campaigners have been pushing for a new unit in Ennis, Co Clare and eventually in Nenagh, Co Tipperary . Beaumon.
