UHL remains most overcrowded hospital despite reductions in scheduled care

University Hospital Limerick (UHL) was the most overcrowded hospital in Ireland on Friday despite a move by the HSE to cancel scheduled care in the facility for an indefinite period.

A total of 363 patients were waiting for beds across Irish hospitals on Friday morning, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Association (INMO), with 92 of those waiting in UHL.

Limerick was also the most overcrowded hospital according to the HSE's own figures, with 46 patients waiting for a free bed.

The figures come after a decision to cancel scheduled care across five hospitals and injury units for an indefinite period in the Limerick area.

A consultants group said the HSE’s decision to cancel elective surgeries, endoscopies and outpatient appointments was “unbelievable” and “one of the starkest developments in Irish healthcare in recent times”.

The University of Limerick Hospitals Group said the action was taken to manage high volumes of patients attending the emergency department at UHL.

Appointments and operations have been cancelled at UHL, Ennis, Nenagh, St John’s Hospital and Croom Orthopaedic Hospital in order to “de-escalate the UHL site” and “reduce wait times”, it said.

The emergency department and services at University Maternity Hospital Limerick are continuing as normal.

“We regret the impact this decision will have on patients waiting for surgery, appointments and investigations; and all affected patients are being contacted directly by hospital staff. These appointments will be rescheduled as soon as possible,” it said in a statement.

The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) argued it will have severe knock-on consequences for patient health outcomes and expressed concern about the busier winter months.

The IHCA also said it “effectively amounts to a dereliction of hospitals across the Mid-West and those who depend upon them”.

There has been a focus on conditions at UHL since the death of 16-year-old Aoife Johnston at the hospital in 2022, who waited 12 hours to be assessed for suspected sepsis.

An initial report found that overcrowding in the hospital’s emergency department was “endemic” and doctor and nurse staffing levels are “insufficient”.

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said that although reforms were not fully in place yet, those implemented to date had begun to bring the number of patients waiting on trolleys down.