In excess of 500 more patients were waiting on trolleys at the region’s main hospital this month, than any other hospital in the country.
The latest analysis from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation shows the level of overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick increased by almost a quarter in March this year, compared to the same month in 2022.
Monthly figures published by the INMO today show University Hospital Limerick was by far the busiest in the country, once again, in March.
Nurses recorded 2,080 patients waiting for beds at the Dooradoyle facility over the past four and half weeks, a rise of 24% on March 2022.
The overall figure is 550 more then Cork Univeristy Hospital, which was the next busiest facility in the country this month.
Nurses at University Hospital Galway also recorded very high levels of overcrowding in March, with 1,048 admitted patients waiting for beds there.
The INMO says this has been the worst March for overcrowding since the INMO began counting trolleys in 2006.
It goes on to say that in some hospitals, the level of overcrowding has been out of control and cannot be allowed to continue into the spring and summer months.
The nurses’ union is calling on the HSE and Department of Health to devise a multi-annual plan as to how overcrowding is tackled, saying it’s clear that it’s no longer just a winter overcrowding crisis, but a year-long one.
