Trolley numbers at the region’s main hospital have again reached among the highest since records began today.
90 people are waiting for bed at University Hospital Limerick as of this morning according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.
It’s understood attendances at UHL’s emergency department remain were high throughout the weekend and into this week, with management asking patients to consider all care options before presenting to the facility.
Nurses say 40 people were waiting in the ED in Dooradoyle at 8am this morning, while a further 50 were in overflow areas of wards.
Today’s trolley numbers in Limerick are more than twice the next busiest facility, Sligo University Hospital, which has 50 patients waiting in total.
It’s after monthly data from the INMO showed nearly 1,500 people were on trolleys throughout February at University Hospital Limerick.
That’s a number that’s more than doubled in the past five years and has quadrupled in the last decade.
UHL’s total is the highest monthly number since the union began recording such data back in 2006.
The number of people on trolleys has been climbing steadily since 2010, but has began rising particularly sharply since 2018.
The UL Hospitals Group is apologising to patients who are continuing to face long waits for inpatient beds, saying that they continue to prioritise care for the sickest patients amid ‘significant demands’ on its services.
