UNIVERSITY Hospital Limerick (UHL) is seeing a significant increase in homeless people presenting at its emergency department (ED).
So said Social Democrats councillor Elisa O’Donovan at this week’s Metropolitan District meeting during a discussion on sourcing more hostel beds for people experiencing homelessness.
Cllr O’Donovan said the homelessness issue has reached crisis point in the city.
The Soc Dems councillor said that ED staff have reported seeing “a huge increase of homeless people presenting with chest pains which they do not have. But it is the only place they can go in the city where they know they can have a safe place to sleep at night.”
The City West representative said she will request that the HSE employ a homeless liaison nurse at UHL to help tackle the issue.
She said that people “are so desperate … of course they’re presenting to any place that they can get a shelter over their heads”.
Aontú councillor Sarah Beasley, who is heading up Mayor John Moran’s new homelessness task force, proposed the Council urgently looks at sourcing more hostel beds. The task force, she revealed, would try and deal with street homelessness and people in addiction.
“No one wants to come into the city centre at the moment due to the fact that we have so many homeless people that cannot get a bed in the nine to nine,” Cllr Beasley said.
Cllr Daniel Butler (FG), who has worked in addiction counselling, warned councillors not to make sweeping statements on such a complex and challenging issue as homelessness.
“Every night we have 50 individuals that are at high risk of sleeping rough. Some of these individuals will chose this reality for various reasons. That could be they don’t feel safe or there’s feuds going on. And yes, a lot of them are then presenting at A&E because their medical needs are very complex, maybe from using crack cocaine, their physical condition and the illnesses they suffer are hugely complex,” he said.
Cllr Butler said that that until more accommodation is found, street sleeping will continue to rise in the city.
