UNIVERSITY Hospital Limerick (UHL) has once again broken the record for the highest number of patients waiting on trolleys for in-hospital beds, just two weeks after the chronically overcrowded Limerick hospital broke the previous national record.
This Tuesday morning (February 6), there were 138 patients waiting on trolleys in the emergency department and in wards across the hospital for valuable bedspace, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Association’s (INMO) Trolley Watch figures.
This is the second time so far this year the Dooradoyle hospital has broken the record for the highest number of patients awaiting in-patient beds nationally.
On January 22, there were 132 admitted patients waiting for beds, just marginally above the previous record of 130 patients on trolleys set in October last year.
Nationally, there were 683 patients on beds in emergency departments (EDs) around the country this morning.
INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said in a statement that the level of overcrowding in hospitals around the country is “incredibly dangerous”.
“We are once again seeing another predictable post-bank holiday trolley surge in hospitals around the country this morning,” she said.
“The level of overcrowding across hospital sites is incredibly dangerous. These types of post-bank holiday surges are not new. There is no point in the HSE issuing statements describing how bad the problem is, they should have been taking preventative measures in the week leading up to the bank holiday to ensure that we didn’t find ourselves in the position we are in today.”
The INMO General Secretary continued: “The HSE must outline what steps it is taking to alleviate the pressure in our hospitals over the in the immediate and short-term, and for the St Patrick’s Day and Easter bank holidays which will happen in quick succession.”
“It is clear that the system is now completely overwhelmed. We need targeted measures to tackle this crisis, particularly in the Mid West where overcrowding is completely out of hand,” the statement concluded.
University Hospital Limerick was contacted for comment.
