A CITY councillor has criticised Minister Jan O’Sullivan for acting like a “responsibility free zone”, and said she must accept her share of the blame for the appalling conditions at Limerick University Hospital’s emergency department.
The crisis in Limerick University Hospital has also been condemned by the Anti Austerity Alliance (AAA), who have called for a mass campaign to fight for the 70 extra beds demanded by the nurses union, and to reopen the other A&E units across the Mid-West.
AAA spokesperson, Cian Prendiville, who led the campaign to save the emergency department at St John’s hospital, commented, “The ongoing crisis in the Regional is an absolute emergency, and requires emergency action. However, it is no accident. It could have been predicted, and indeed it was, when they downgraded Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s A&Es.
“People are being herded into an already overcrowded A&E, creating what the nurses union the INMO have described as utter chaos”, he added.
Fellow AAA candidate and home help, Kathleen Enright, has called for health workers and the broader community to “come together and build a strong campaign for emergency action to stop the chaos”.