PATIENTS ATTENDING the emergency department of Limerick Regional Hospital can expect long delays from next week due to a shortage of doctors in the unit.
The HSE confirmed yesterday that the department is short four junior doctors which means there will be two fewer doctors available to see patients at any one time.
The shortage of junior doctors is a national problem and had long been predicted to get worse after July 1st when junior doctors rotated jobs, something they do every six months as part of their training.
In a statement the HSE in the midwest said: “While the HSE locally continues to actively recruit suitably qualified doctors for these posts, it is likely that in the short term these vacancies [at Limerick Regional Hospital] will affect the ability of the emergency department to deliver the same level of service as previously.”
It asked the public to seek medical attention through other means if possible, such as their GP or pharmacist, and to be patient with staff in the emergency department.
It has also emerged that there have been difficulties getting doctors to staff the emergency departments at Ennis and Nenagh General Hospitals.
Round-the-clock emergency services at both those hospitals came to an end in April 2009 and were replaced by an 8am-8pm emergency service run at each site by three junior doctors.
Dr Cathal O’Donnell, consultant in emergency medicine at Limerick Regional Hospital, said the emergency departments at Ennis and Nenagh were currently staffed by agency doctors due to the difficulties getting full-time junior doctors.
“Currently the only way I can get any doctors for them is through agencies,” he said.
Dr O’Donnell said he had agency staff to cover the units for the next few weeks but from the end of this month the situation in relation to staffing at Ennis in particular was “uncertain”.
But efforts to find staff would continue.
The HSE said: “The situation at the local emergency centres in Ennis and Nenagh hospitals is being kept under review. If any changes in service are necessary, they will be published immediately.”
Dr O’Donnell stressed that despite the doctor shortages at Limerick Regional’s emergency department critically ill patients such as those with heart attacks would continue to be seen quickly but those with non-life-threatening injuries or conditions could expect significant delays.
There were four main reasons for the shortages of junior doctors, Dr O’Donnell said.
These include increased regulation of junior doctors by the Medical Council, increased difficulties for foreign doctors getting visas for themselves and their families, pay cuts, and the redesignation by the HSE of more than 1,000 junior doctor training posts as non-training posts.
These issues together caused the “perfect storm”, he said.
While the HSE changed its mind recently on the redesignation of these training posts, its decision seems to have come too late.
Dr O’Donnell said he would be surprised, based on conversations with colleagues, if Limerick Regional was the only hospital in trouble.
It was reported earlier this week that the Mercy Hospital in Cork has also had difficulty staffing its emergency department.
Naas hospital has also had difficulties and the HSE has removed around-the-clock emergency services from Dundalk Hospital in recent weeks due to the junior doctor shortage.