Ireland AM comes to Limerick for special show focusing on issues at UHL

POPULAR breakfast show Ireland AM is coming to Limerick to broadcast a special episode live from the Strand Hotel.

The show will take place live from 7am this Thursday and will see Limerick native and presenter Muireann O'Connell joined by co-host Tommy Bowe, to focus on issues in the University Hospital Limerick (UHL).

Shining a light on the ongoing situation at the hospital's emergency department, Muireann and Tommy will examine the overcrowding, trolley figures and lengthy waits.

Muireann said: “Being from Limerick, I’ve been to UHL many times, both as a patient and a visitor.

“My father had the best care in UHL up until the day he died, with the staff doing more than just caring for his body, they kept his spirits up. But the overcrowding is impacting people in the worst way, with their lives.

“We want to hear about what’s going on from the people who work there and the service users and hope to give an insight into our bursting at the seams healthcare system.”

The show, which will be broadcast on Virgin Media One, will hear from people in the local Limerick communities, medical staff working on the ground in UHL, along with other representatives and those impacted.

This one-of-a-kind episode of Ireland AM is following on from Taoiseach Simon Harris' comments on UHL, when he visited Limerick to endorse Fine Gael councillor Daniel Butler as a candidate for Directly Elected Mayor (DEM) on Friday last. 

Taoiseach Harris said: "I must express, and I mean this sincerely, a level of deep concern [for UHL] despite the very significant additional investment - beds, staff, millions - we haven't seen the level of improvement that we would expect to see.

"There is a need for real leadership in that hospital - we will continue as a government to increase staffing numbers, we'll continue as a government to increase the budget, we'll continue as a government to increase beds - it's not too much to ask in return for a very close monitoring of the impact on that return in investment," he said.