The Midwest Hospital Campaign Group believes management at the region’s main hospital must be held accountable for the facility’s ongoing overcrowding crisis.
It comes one day after the INMO recorded the highest ever level of admitted patients on trolleys at an Irish hospital at University Hospital Limerick.
Record-breaking trolley numbers were recorded by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation at the region’s main hospital yesterday, where 130 admitted patients were waiting for beds; the highest number ever recorded on a single day at any Irish hosptial.
That number has falled to 108 today, though the Emergency Department remains extremely busy.
The UL Hospitals Group has acknowledged this level is “far in excess” of where they want it to be and have highlighted measures being undertaken to curb overcrowding.
This includes opening surge capacity, transferring patients on trolleys to inpatient wards and working to identify patients suitable for transfer to Ennis, Nenagh and St. John’s Hospitals.
Hospital management are also advising people to “avoid the ED except in cases of severe or life-threatening illness or injury” and are pointing out that “anyone attending ED who doesn’t have a life-threatening or severe illness or injury will face a significant wait”.
Midwest Hospital Campaign Group member Marie McMahon, whose husband passed away at UHL in 2018, says it’s vital blame isn’t levelled at staff.
Meanwhile, at the Oireachtas Committee on Health which is in session today, HSE CEO Bernard Gloster has once again described the health service’s €22.5 billion budget allocation as wholly “inadequate”.
Clare Regional Health Forum Member Councillor Cillian Murphy says at the very least, the situation at the region’s main hospital represents an obvious fire and health and safety hazard.
