CALLS have been made for the activation of an emergency plan at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) where 126 patients were lying on trolleys this morning, the highest level of overcrowding ever recorded in any Irish hospital.
In a statement confirming the record level of overcrowding, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) said it was dangerous for patients and staff and requires an immediate hospital group wide response.
According to INMO figures, the number of patients on trolleys at UHL is more than 28 per cent of the total number of patients on trolleys across the entire Irish hospital network which stood at 442 patients this morning.
Of the 126 patients waiting for beds at UHL, 65 were in the hospital’s emergency department and 61 in wards elsewhere on the Dooradoyle campus.
There were no patients on trolleys waiting for beds at either Ennis or Nenagh hospitals.
INMO Assistant Director of Industrial Relations, Mary Fogarty said the fact there are a record number of patients on trolleys at UHL on April 21, means that the bed management system is completely broken.
“The INMO has been sounding the alarm on issues within UHL for years. We need to see the emergency plan activated for the hospital this morning and a public announcement of same,” she added.
“Hospital management need to urgently stop admitting patients for elective care as there are no beds in the hospital. The system is completely congested.
“INMO members are reporting significant work-related stress due to the persistent overcrowding and inability of provide appropriate care to all admitted patients. They are exhausted and burnt out.
“As well as trying to deal with a completely unsafe environment they also are dealing with public dissatisfaction and impatience with the situation in the hospital. They also have serious concerns for the safety of patients and have advised management repeatedly of this,” Ms Fogarty said .
“Senior HSE management and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly need to urgently act on what is a chaotic situation for the people of the Midwest.
“This complete mismanagement is unacceptable and is having real consequences on the health outcomes of patients who find themselves without a bed in an extremely busy hospital while an airborne virus is still extremely prevalent.
“Private hospitals need to be urgently engaged by the HSE to address the waiting times for elective surgery and St John’s Hospital in the Limerick City needs urgent expansion to provide high level of surgery in the Midwest.
“The situation in UHL has been allowed to fester for far too long. We need to see real, meaningful short, medium, and long-term action. Patients, nurses, midwives, and the wider hospital community deserve so much better,” Ms Fogarty declared.
Limerick Sinn Féin TD Maurice Quinlivan said that the crisis at UHL cannot be allowed continue, and the government must intervene as the token measures to date have had little or no impact.
“126 people on trolleys in UHL beggars belief and is truly scandalous. The Government is clearly to blame as they have ignored the concerns of the staff for years and failed to act in any meaningful way to address this crisis.
“The Royal College of Emergency Medicine in the UK has found that there is, on average, one excess death for every 67 patients forced to linger in an emergency department for eight to 12 hours.
“It’s an absolute disgrace that the situation has been allowed to get this bad, and another mess Fine Gael have caused after their 11 years in government.
“The Taoiseach and the Minister for Health have washed their hands of this crisis and failed to take any meaningful actions to deal with the trolley crisis at UHL,” Deputy Quinlivan stated.
“Patients are being packed into this hospital like sardines, and nurses and doctors are being forced to treat sick patients on corridors and work in a very dangerously overcrowded environment.
“A number of staff have work related stress and it’s impossible for them to deliver the proper care people deserve in this overcrowded situation.
“We need urgent action to reduce the huge levels of overcrowding in our hospital, to ensure the safety of patients and staff.
“Sinn Féin’s plans for our health system would make a dramatic difference to patients using the health service, and to our incredibly hard-working nurses, doctors and support staff,” he concluded.
