OVERCROWDING surged again in University Hospital Limerick this week close to record levels following recent calls for an independent inquiry into why this continues to be a problem at the region’s flagship acute hospital.
The number of patients on trolleys increased from 63 on Tuesday to 89 on Wednesday after 78 patients were waiting for a bed on Monday, according to the INMO’s Trolley Watch.
An Taoiseach Micheál Martin has pledged to ask Health Minister Stephen Donnelly to set up an independent inquiry into chronic overcrowding in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) after two record-breaking days of trolley numbers last week.
Surging admissions, which resulted in 97 patients languishing on trolleys in UHL on Tuesday, January 25 and 111 on Wednesday, January 26 have prompted calls for an independent inquiry into overcrowding.
Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Taoiseach to commission an official independent inquiry to establish “what is the problem with healthcare in the UHL Hospitals’ Group”.
The Taoiseach said there is capacity issues in the Saolta Group and, in particular, at UHL, which can’t be solved overnight, but noted there have been moves on that front.
“You (McNamara) have raised a wider issue that I think merits further examination. I will ask the minister and the HSE to pursue that.”
The INMO has warned the government can’t allow chronic overcrowding to become the norm again after 1,300 patients were left on trolleys in UHL last month, which was the highest in the country. This compares to 817 in Letterkenny, 750 in Cork University Hospital and 738 in University Hospital Galway.
The Department of Health (DOH) outlined in a statement bespoke plans should be produced for hospitals where chronic overcrowding is a persistent feature of the hospital environment.
“It is accepted that a key part of the solution for Limerick is additional beds. The new 60-bed modular ward block at University Hospital Limerick is a significant step in addressing this, and provides modern, single-room inpatient accommodation with improved infection prevention and control capabilities as well as patient flow throughout the hospital.”
A DOH spokesman pointed out there were over 76,000 attendances at the emergency department in Limerick in 2021, up 16% compared to 2020. The HSE has advised that attendances in recent weeks have been higher than the comparable period in 2020 and 2019.