March for Limerick! UHL protest to take place this weekend

IT’S TIME for Limerick to make a stand and say: Enough is enough.

It’s time for local people to say they will no longer tolerate the overcrowding crisis at University Hospital Limerick (UHL).

And it’s time for the Limerick public to put real pressure on the government and those responsible for running the region’s health system.

On Saturday, thousands of people are expected to march in protest at the conditions in UHL, call for more resources, and push for better public health provision in the region overall.

It all gets under way at 11am outside City Hall at Merchant’s Quay in the city centre (Eircode: V94 EH90). It will take a route through the city (see map overleaf), ending at Arthur’s Quay, where there will be a rally.

In the last 15 years, intolerable strain has been put on the hospital’s emergency department (ED) in Dooradoyle following the closure of ED facilities at St John’s Hospital, Nenagh and Ennis.

It’s left the Mid-West in a situation where there is only one ED for a population of 400,000 people and the only area without a private hospital of scale.

UHL has just 530 inpatient beds – less than all but one of Ireland’s main hospitals. And, according to the latest figures, it has the State’s second busiest ED with 76,473 people seeking treatment in 2021.

'March for Limerick!' ➡️ In this week's Limerick Leader, we look ahead to Saturday's planned protest march and rally over the overcrowding crisis at University Hospital Limerick. Newspaper on sale now in shops and online at https://t.co/C5sc7CF4OI #buyapaper pic.twitter.com/B596KmjgyH

— Limerick Leader / Limerick Live (@Limerick_Leader) January 18, 2023

Staff from this newspaper will be out in force at the demonstration, as we recognise the impact the conditions at UHL are having on the whole region.

We implore all our readers to join us, and believe it represents an opportunity for business leaders, community groups, sporting organisations and charities to unite behind something which impacts us all.

Mike Daly, the man who has organised what he’s calling ‘the people’s protest’, said it was the death of a teenage girl following a wait of at least 13 hours in the ED last month which forced him into action.

“My stomach turned when I heard about it. The whole idea a young girl can pass away due to waiting times – you wouldn’t see it anywhere in the world. I was just so disgusted,” said Mr Daly, whose own father Mike Sr died in the hospital in 2010.

“Everyone over the years in Limerick has just put up with it. No-one was kicking up and screaming. We were going out and all putting in 12 and 14 hour waiting times – we had to do it if we wanted our children to be seen. But no Limerick person will tolerate this anymore,” added the Kileely man.

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Thousands of people have joined a Facebook page which is promoting the march, and Mr Daly is hopeful of a strong turnout on Saturday.

“I’m going to be optimistic and hope Limerick is swamped, and we bring the whole city to a standstill. We have 5,000 followers on the Facebook page. If half of them came out and brought someone with them – or even a fifth come out and bring three with them, we are into the thousands,” he told the Limerick Leader. “This has gone far and wide – it’s being talked about in North Kerry, Lahinch, everywhere.”

And Saturday won’t be a one-off, he insists.

“We will give it about a month and we’ll see what comes out from the powers that be. After that, we will take it to another level. If we need to go to the Dail, we will go to the Dail. We just cannot accept another death occurring in that hospital. The eyes of the world are on us,” he said.

Indeed, the problems facing UHL have even featured on Sky News – which has a huge audience across Ireland and Britain – with Mr Daly expecting to be interviewed further by the network ahead of the rally.

“Children’s lives are at stake here – everyone’s lives are at stake due to waiting times. We won’t tolerate it any more,” Mr Daly concluded.

Our website and social media platforms will be carrying comprehensive reports and videos from Saturday’s hospital demonstration in the city centre.