Hospital overcrowding: Record numbers waiting for bed at University Hospital Limerick

Michael Bolton

University Hospital Limerick has broken its record for the number of patients on trolleys, as 130 people are waiting for a bed on Monday.

Of the 130 patients, 62 are in the emergency department, with 68 elsewhere in the hospital, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.

The hospital set the previous trolley record of 126 patients waiting for admission, in April 2022.

“Today’s record-breaking trolley figures in University Hospital Limerick comes as no surprise to our members who have been working in overcrowded and understaffed wards with no reprieve for years on end," said Mary Fogarty, INMO Assistant Director for Industrial Relations for the Midwest.

“The fact that there are more patients on trolleys across the hospital itself than in the emergency department itself is making the provision of safe and timely care impossible. Patient flow out of the emergency department is proving difficult because of the sheer volume of trolleys across the hospital.

“Our members are burnt out and demoralised as a direct result of their working conditions. It is impossible for them to provide safe care in a working environment that is persistently dangerous.

"INMO members in the hospital met last week to discuss their grave concerns about their safety and that of their patients. INMO members feel that none of the interventions directed by hospital management have had any positive impact to date.

“Hospital management and the Health Service Executive must outline what targeted interventions they intend to carry out to take the pressure off our members for the sake of patient safety.

In total, there are 530 patients on trolleys across the country. Cork University Hospital has 45 patients waiting for beds, with 38 in the Emergency Department.

Tallaght University Hospital recorded 44 patients waiting for a bed.