‘No official invite’ for Health Minister as Limerick trolley crisis continues

THE DEPARTMENT of Health has indicated that Minister for Health Simon Harris has no plans yet to visit the country’s worst overcrowded hospital, as the trolley crisis at University Hospital Limerick continues to soar. 

According to Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation figures, UHL had the highest level of overcrowding last week, with a total of 298 patients on trolleys from Monday to Friday. 

This Monday, UHL topped the overcrowding charts with 62 patients, and again was the worst in the country with 59 patients this Tuesday, exceeding the rate this time last week. 

In a recent interview, Deputy Maurice Quinlivan said he had invited the Minister to visit the ED for a third time since October 2016. 

The Leader asked the Department of Health if the Minister was accepting an invite to UHL and if he was intending to visit the department in the near future, following the serious levels of overcrowding. 

A spokesperson told the Leader that “no official invite” had been extended to the Minister. 

The Leader contacted the Department again this Monday to clarify if the Minister was intending to visit the hospital, regardless of the invite. 

The Department has yet to reply to this query.