OVERCROWDING in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) and smaller hospitals in Ennis and Nenagh has reached “catastrophic unsafe levels” for both patients and staff, with record numbers on trolleys, says the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO).
Despite the provision of 50 new acute step-down beds in a former Nenagh nursing home, approximately 20 additional beds in Cahercalla Nursing Home in Ennis and 16 new acute beds at UHL itself, the INMO’s Assistant Director of Industrial Relations, Mary Fogarty, has warned her members that she believes overcrowding is actually getting worse in UHL.
“The number of patients on trolleys is totally unsafe. Despite all the extra beds our members don’t see any real improvement in the situation for patients or staff in UHL,” she said.
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East Clare correspondent, Dan Danaher is a journalism graduate of Rathmines and UL. He has won numerous awards for special investigations on health, justice, environment, and reports on news, agriculture, disability, mental health and community.