People 'terrified' of attending Limerick hospital due to overcrowding

Vivienne Clarke

Hospital campaigner Marie McMahon has warned that people in the mid west are terrified if they have to go to the emergency department in University Hospital Limerick (UHL).

It was a horrifying situation, she told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.

The situation at the hospital’s emergency department had not changed in years. Everyone – from the Minister to the HSE, to hospital staff – was aware of the capacity issues, but nothing had been done.

Ms McMahon, who is involved with the Mid West Hospital campaign group said that her husband had died on a trolley in UHL in 2018. The situation remained appalling and had not improved.

“They've only steadily got worse over the last few years. And to be honest, I would rather, if I was in that position, die at home than on a trolley, because it's possibly the most horrifying experience.

“Anybody you speak to from this area, from across the region, is terrified of the thought of going into the UHL emergency department. The hospital itself is fine, but it's the lack of staff, the overcrowding, trolley after trolley after trolley. And it's nothing new. It's something we've been campaigning for years and it seems like nobody is listening.

“We have one emergency department for over 400,000 people.”

Ms McMahon said politicians, clinicians, hospital management, the Minister for Health, the HSE were all aware of what the issues are in UHL. “

They make promises and they tell us things are going to get better, but they're not getting any better.”

Sinn Féin spokesperson David Cullinane described the situation at the emergency department in UHL as “Groundhog Day”.