WITH more than 3,400 admitted patients treated on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) so far this year, Sinn Féin TD Maurice Quinlivan has called on An Taoiseach and the Minister for Health to outline what immediate steps they will take to address overcrowding.
The Limerick TD made the calls following confirmation by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) that 113 people were treated on trolleys at UHL on Wednesday of last week (February 19).
Deputy Quinlivan said the figures “demonstrate that the trolley crisis continues unabated”.
“This brings the total number of people treated on trolleys this year at University Hospital Limerick to 3,392 (up to February 19). These are people assessed at the hospital, deemed in need of a hospital bed, and yet no bed is available to them.”
Speaking in the Dáil, the Sinn Féin Deputy added: “The previous Minister for Health demonstrated an inability to take sufficient actions to address this issue, I am hopeful that the current Minister adopts a different approach.”
“It is vital that this challenge is addressed as it affects all departments of the hospital. Elective procedures are frequently cancelled at short notice due to the overcrowding.”
Addressing the Taoiseach, the Deputy Quinlivan said: “Today again I have had to raise the overcrowding and capacity issues at UHL with both the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health, yet it seems the numbers continue to get worse. January 2025 saw more people treated on trolleys than were treated in that manner in any other January.”
