LIMERICK will send a message to the Government at 11am tomorrow morning (Saturday January 21) when marchers assemble outside City Hall in Merchant’s Quay to protest over conditions at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) and demand a properly resourced health service for the region.
The strength of that message will be measured by how many people join the protest march through the city centre and back to Arthur’s Quay Park where a rally will be held.
The Limerick Post has campaigned long and hard over many years for a radical overhaul of the University of Limerick Hospitals Group and is now encouraging its readers to join in tomorrow’s public protest, organised by Michael Daly (whose father Michael Daly Snr died in UHL in April 2010) in cooperation with the Mid West Hospital Campaign.
In a statement issued this morning in support of the planned march, Limerick Post Head of News Adam Leahy said: “The very least we should be able to expect from a health service in a civilised, developed society is a hospital that people aren’t afraid to die in. Given recent events, and constant reminders from the public, this is sadly not something we’re able to expect anymore.
“So it’s time for the people to stand up and demand something better.
“Aoife Johnston. Michael Daly. Eve Cleary. These are names we need to keep in our minds and in our memories. But they aren’t the only names synonymous with sad, unnecessary, and shocking stories from inside UHL. Too many people in Limerick and the surrounding counties have the same sad, shocking stories to share.
“I say this with the deepest respect: We have had enough of these stories.
“It has always been a privilege for the Limerick Post to help add volume to those whose voices need to be heard. Tomorrow, we strongly encourage the people of Limerick, the Mid West, and from anywhere else they are stirred to come from, to use their own voices – to stand up and be heard in no uncertain terms that we need more than a promise of better for the future and a template apology about the past.
“We need a guarantee, we need a timeframe, we need a plan.
“The Limerick Post will proudly stand beside all those marching from City Hall tomorrow morning in the drive for a health service that can deliver more than the very least we should be able to expect,” Mr Leahy’s statement concluded.
Organisers have asked those wishing to join to gather outside City Hall in Merchant’s Quay, where the march will proceed from 11am through O’Connell Street, Mallow Street, and Henry Street, before finishing in Arthur’s Quay Park, where a public rally will be held with a number of speakers scheduled to address the crowd.
