Trolley numbers in UHL approach record levels

TROLLEY numbers in University Hospital Limerick are approaching record levels this Wednesday.

121 people are on trolleys in UHL, according to numbers published by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation. 

There are 61 people waiting for beds in the Emergency Department, while 60 are in wards elsewhere in the hospital. The record for daily trolley numbers in UHL is 126, which was set in April 2022.

UHL also saw the highest levels of overcrowding of hospitals around Ireland in September, with 2,174 patients left without a bed throughout the month.

The second-most overcrowded hospital, Cork University Hospital, had just under half as many patients without beds, at 1,024 patients.

INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha expressed grave concerns about the current state of healthcare, stating: "September has always been a reliable indicator of how the winter is going to look for healthcare staff, and the situation that our members are predicting based on these figures, as was the case in August, indicates a huge red flag."

"The INMO has been calling for a solid plan to deal with hospital overcrowding with a strong emphasis on infection control since early summer. We are now urgently looking to meet each individual hospital group to hear how they plan to deal with the overcrowding crisis that is materialising in the vast majority of Irish hospitals and how they will protect our members and the patients in their care. " 

Nationally, 532 admitted patients are waiting for beds in hospitals across the country this Wednesday.