Limerick sees 'worst day for overcrowding' in any Irish hospital as 150 left on trolleys

THE UNIVERSITY Hospital Limerick has made history, as 150 patients have been left without a bed, making it the worst day for hospital overcrowding in any Irish hospital.

This Wednesday, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) said they have never seen figures this high, since they began counting trolley numbers in 2006. 

They have called for measures to be put in place in the hospital to improve patient flow.

INMO assistant director of industrial relations for the Midwest and Western regions, Mary Fogarty, said they have seen overcrowding records broken three times in the space of two weeks in University Hospital Limerick, with over 150 people admitted to the hospital without a bed on Wednesday, January 7. 

New record set for number of patients waiting on trolleys at UHL

“Since the beginning of January over 2,573 patients have been admitted to UHL without a bed. These patients, no matter what their condition is, are placed on trolleys in all available spaces, on public corridors of the hospital, on ward corridors and in the emergency department leading to a completely congested hospital with no patient movement to access an in-patient bed,” Ms Fogarty added.