Limerick hospital 'at breaking point' after spike in patients attending Emergency Department
CLOSE to 250 people attended the emergency department (ED) at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) on Sunday.
And there are 92 patients on trolleys this Monday at UHL, new figures have shown.
One patient described the department as being at "breaking point" due to the huge number of attendances.
Normally, there are between 150 and 180 patients in the ED on a Sunday.
One person who sought care there, and was in contact with Limerick Live said: "It was really bad. It was at breaking point."
The patient spoke on condition of anonymity.
The increase in attendance came against the backdrop of poor weather conditions over the weekend which saw two Status Yellow weather warnings issued over icy conditions.
While it's not clear what caused the increase, it's known that previous cold snaps have seen the number of patients suffering trips and falls on ice has seen a spike in attendance in ED.
Elsewhere, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has published figures which reveal there are 92 patients waiting on trolleys for a bed at UHL this Monday morning.
Some 47 are on trolleys in the ED, with 45 elsewhere in the hospital.
It comes with 760 patients on trolleys at public hospitals across the country.
The union's general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: "Today’s trolley figures are unacceptably high. This level of overcrowding is a danger to patients and staff, alike. The HSE, government and each individual hospital group must take urgent action today and pull every lever available to them to ease the pressure in our hospitals."
Ms Ní Sheaghdha said the "overcrowding" is "entirely predictable".
"The INMO has been warning this was going to happen, medics have been doing the same. Warnings from those who are working on the frontline should not fall on deaf ears. Behind these figures are patients who are being stripped of their dignity and privacy while being deemed sick enough to be admitted to hospital. We know that more often than not our members are working in conditions that are unsafely staffed, meaning that providing safe care in an overcrowded environment is impossible," she added.
"Serious and immediate intervention is needed today from the new Taoiseach and the Minister for Health," added the general secretary.