New figures confirm Limerick hospital most overcrowded in the country

THE NUMBER of patients awaiting a hospital bed in Limerick has almost trebled in the last decade, new figures have revealed.

Trolleywatch statistics published this month by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) show that University Hospital Limerick was the most overcrowded in the State in the opening month of 2023.

There were 1,180 patients left on trolleys waiting for a bed throughout January.

By comparison, back in 2013, that figure stood at 437 people according to the data published by the union.

It comes in a month where more than 11,000 people took to Limerick's streets to demand better conditions in the county's public health system.

In total across the country, some 11,289 patients were left waiting for a hospital bed last month, the INMO added.

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Cork University Hospital bad 1,145 people on trolleys, followed by University Hospital Galway with 728.

Letterkenny University Hospital in Co Donegal had 650 patients, while St Vincent's University Hospital in Dublin had 594 patients awaiting a bed.`

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INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: "A lack of adequate planning has put unnecessary stress on nurses and the patients they are trying to provide care for throughout the month of January. The number of patients on trolleys in wards outside our emergency departments have been unacceptably high. This practice should not be allowed to continue as a measure to try take pressure off our emergency departments."

According to two recent opinion polls, over 75% of people would not visit an Emergency Department. The strategy of telling people to not attend hospital will have knock-on effects across the health service for months to come. We cannot continue to accept the wait until things get unbearably bad approach before an attempt is made to lessen the pressure on our public hospital system. Nurses and their patients deserve better than this," she added.

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