It seems theres been a surge in numbers presenting at St Lukes hospital again.
Figures from Trolley watch today show 36 patients were waiting on a bed this morning.
That’s the third highest figure in the country.
It comes after confirmation that the local hospital is to be included in the National Patient Experience Survey again this year.
All inpatients discharged from St Lukes during the month of May will be asked to take part by sharing details of their experience of a hospital stay.
Key findings for the hospital last year showed that 77% of those who responded described their experience in the Carlow & Kilkenny facility as good or very good.
92% said that they felt that they were treated with respect and dignity while in the Emergency Department.
90% said that they were given enough privacy while being examined or treated there & 88% thought that the hospital staff did everything they could to help control their pain.
A number of areas for improvement were identified and these included: waiting times in the emergency department, communications around diagnosis and test results and the patient discharge and transfer process.
In response to the 2017 findings, St Luke’s General Hospital says it has developed a quality improvement plan and to date has implemented a number of initiatives or projects to improve patients’ experience.
These include the rolling out of the Geriatric Emergency Medicine Service, expanding its Volunteer Service, commencing service improvement work on the Acute Floor, opening a 14-bedded ward to accommodate patients when the hospital is in over-capacity & the development of a hospital information booklet for patients.
