PPE Posters

New posters have been developed by HSE AMRIC (Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control) team, featuring Mairead Downey from UL Hospitals Group.

The posters ‘How to put on personal protective equipment’ and ‘How to take off personal protective equipment’ replace older versions.

They include recommendations to conduct a point of care risk assessment to support correct choices of PPE and to consider environmental and sustainability elements. 

The posters are available on the HPSC website . Copies of the posters will be distributed in the coming weeks.

An induction day was facilitated by NPDU (Nursing Practice Development Unit) for the Second year BSc Nursing (General) Students (2022). The students commence clinical placement in October. Welcome and good luck to all students in their 16- week placement with UL Hospitals Group. 

Equality & Inclusion Conference

You are invited to attend this year's Equality and Inclusion Conference. The conference will focus on change, inclusivity and staff support against the backdrop of the HSE organisational reform and the development of Regional Health Areas. See program schedule below.

The conference is on Wednesday 08th Nov at 1.30-4.15pm in CERC Auditorium UHL. 

Registration is coming soon; you can email your interest to HealthSciencesAcademy@ul.ie

Magnet4Europe Survey

Magnet4Europe is a four-year EU-funded project that aims to improve mental health and wellbeing among health professionals in Europe.

UHL is one of 13 hospitals in Ireland participating in Magnet4Europe.

We are surveying staff to assess working conditions, quality of care and safety.  A high response rate is crucial for the evaluation of Magnet4Europe.

You are invited to participate if you:

Scan the QR code to access the survey which will take approx. 15 mins to complete.

Resuscitation of Nursing 9s

Nursing 9s is an opportunity to present topics of interest to nursing colleagues, practice presentation skills and learn about new nursing initiatives within ULHG.

Nursing 9s allows for an open discussion forum for all nurses within the hospital group to present on topics in which they have an interest. Each presentation is 9 minutes and uses 9 slides.

It’s a great opportunity to practice & polish presentation skills in a safe, relaxed area amongst peers. Supported by ALERT.

For further information, contact Dr Carrie Garavan ALERT Co-ordinator Carrie.garavan@hse.ie.

Intravenous Care Team – 1 year on

‘The difference 1 year can make' is the theme chosen to celebrate what improvements have been achieved by the UHL Intravenous Care Team (IVC).

The team was appointed to improve patient safety and comfort by reducing IV catheter infections and associated adverse effects. The focus was on implementing the new HSE - AMRIC IV care bundles.

In the year, improvements have been seen in our patients’ overall experience. Care bundle adherence has improved by more than 50%. The main adverse effect associated with IV catheters is a S. aureus bacteraemia infection, which has been significantly reduced.

Remember only put in a PVC when needed and take it out when no longer required!

Pictured: Costel Stefan, staff nurse, Margaret Carroll, CNM3, John McCarthy, ADON IPC, Sarah Kennedy, business manager IPC and Linda Loftus, staff nurse.

Urgent and Emergency Care (UEC) Team

The Urgent and Emergency Care Directorate was established to improve patient care, patient experience and patient flow in unscheduled care. The team are focused on easing ED congestion by ensuring the right patient gets the right care at the right time in the right place.

Michelle Cooke, UEC Directorate, Director of Nursing

Damien Ryan, UEC Directorate, Clinical Director

Tina Fitzgerald, UEC Directorate, General Manager

The HSE Urgent and Emergency Care Operational Plan 2023 outlines the measures and initiatives which will support UEC delivery and performance until year end 2023.

Staff Roadshows: UL Hospitals Group Strategic Plan 2023- 2027

A series of staff communications roadshows are taking place across our hospital sites.

Professor Colette Cowan is launching the new UL Hospitals Strategic Plan 2023 – 2027 at the roadshows.

You can view a recording of the UHL event here, where you will get a detailed overview of the Strategic Plan.

The new Strategic Plan builds on the work done in our Strategic Plan 2018-2022 and  also takes account of the new Health Regions.

The graphic above sets out the four strategic priorities and the five enablers we need to achieve these priorities over the lifetime of our plan. Download a copy here.

Top-up your protection this winter

Top-up your immunity for winter with Flu and Covid Booster Vaccinations. Find a clinic that suits you on ULHG Staff app or in PULSE. See below uptake of vaccines by site since 02nd October.

Safe Surgery Policy

The HSE’s National Policy & Procedure for Safe Surgery was launched in September 2022 and has now gone live on the UHL site.

The policy is available to view on Q-Pulse or scan the QR code.

An eLearning Module ‘The 5 Stages of Safe Surgery’ is available on HSeLanD to support the policy.

The module is mandatory for staff working within the operating department:

ULHG Disability Awareness Training 2023

ULHG Learning & Development have partnered with the Irish Wheelchair Association to provide a 3hr Disability Awareness interactive classroom session on Nov 29th (9.30 to 12.30) in Houston Hall. The training is open to all staff. The following topics will be covered in the course.

To Enrol:

Waiting List Information on HSE.ie

Information on waiting lists for scheduled care is now available on HSE.ie  for patients and GPs to help them find out what the waiting times are for scheduled care.

This new HSE.ie service will make it easier to find and understand how long patients are likely to be waiting and will support patients and GPs to access information they need when making decisions about their care.

This is being delivered in phases:

Phase 1

Information published about options when on a waiting list.  

Phase 2

a. Waiting list data by hospital and specialty 

b. High level activity data by hospital

Phase 3

Average waiting time for first appointment and average time to treatment by specialty and hospital. (Available soon)

Pathfinder Service

The Pathfinder rapid response team responds to low acuity 999/112 calls for older people (65 years and older). The older person is assessed by both an advanced paramedic and occupational therapist or a physiotherapist.

This service was launched in Limerick in October 2023 and is now expanding and responding to calls in Clare and north Tipperary.

Over the last six months (April-September) in the MidWest, 188 patients were assessed by the regional Pathfinder team, of whom 47% were supported at home without the need to go to the ED.

One patient with experience of the Pathfinder service is Pa Buckley, 70, from Ballinacurra Weston in Limerick city. Read about his experience here.

Pictured: With patient Pa Buckley at his home in Limerick, were members of the Pathfinder team, from left, Niamh Ganley, senior occupational therapist; Nicola Donohue, clinical specialist physiotherapist; David O’Connor, advanced paramedic, and Claire O’Brien, clinical specialist occupational therapist